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Tarik Skubal settles in as Dodgers rally past Pirates

August 23, 2026

LOS ANGELES — The two-time Cy Young Award-winning, dominant version of Tarik Skubal might have finally arrived in Los Angeles.

After giving up three runs in the first inning and five hits in the first two innings, Skubal shut down the Pittsburgh Pirates, retiring 18 of the final 19 batters he faced and striking out 11 in seven innings, giving the Dodgers time to climb back and claim their fifth consecutive win, 4-3, Saturday afternoon.

“Obviously, the first inning didn’t go great and they rode out some changeups, but just seeing him on the attack after they got those two runners on in the second inning — from that point on, it was a different pitcher,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Yeah, that’s the guy that we needed.”

The win comes in Skubal’s fourth start for the Dodgers and is his first since the trade that ruined baseball. They lost two of his first three starts and Skubal expressed some dissatisfaction with his own performance after allowing 22 baserunners in his first 17 innings as a Dodger and not getting past the sixth inning.

“I think my last start was pretty good too, just from a pitch execution standpoint,” Skubal said Saturday. “I felt like I executed a ton of pitches against Milwaukee, they just took a lot of quality pitches and were able to foul off some quality stuff too. But my last start, I felt like I was executing at a pretty high clip. And today, I felt for the majority of the game the same type of thing.

“I’m not gonna be perfect out there … But yeah, the stuff coming out of hand is as good as it’s ever been.”

Not in the first inning Saturday. Skubal gave up three consecutive hits – back-to-back singles by Esmerlyn Valdez and Bryan Reynolds and a two-run triple by Oneil Cruz. A ground out scored Cruz and the Pirates had a three-run head start.

Skubal didn’t give up three runs in 10 of his 16 starts for the Detroit Tigers this year (or two of his first three with the Dodgers), let alone three runs in one inning.

“I was talking to Mark (Prior) about that today,” Skubal said. “Early in games, I might just be trying to feel it out too much instead of just competing with what I got in that moment. That’s something that I need to make a change for. Instead of trying to command the ball early maybe just go out there and compete with what I got and then the adjustments will happen naturally.

“Early in games, my stuff should be more crisp than it is. I think it’s just about competing early in games instead of trying to find a feel for things. Just go out there and compete.”

Two soft singles dropped in for the Pirates to start the second inning and Skubal was in trouble again. After a bunt moved both runners into scoring position, Skubal put his foot down, striking out Nick Gonzales and Valdez to strand them.

“I think he sort of went into bully mode from that third inning on,” Roberts said.

He just kept going from there, retiring the side in order with two strikeouts in the third and fourth innings. A walk interrupted things in the fifth but Skubal struck out the next four batters after that baserunner on his way to getting 23 swings-and-misses in the game — 10 on his fastball, six on his slider, five on his changeup and two on his curveball.

The Pirates didn’t even hit another ball out of the infield until second baseman Tommy Edman ranged onto the outfield grass to catch Jared Triolo’s pop up in the seventh inning and Henry Davis followed with a fly out to left field that ended Skubal’s day.

The last pitch to Triolo — the 103rd of Skubal’s 106 in the game — came in at 99.5 mph.

“I feel like I’ve always been able to sustain velocity, from Pitch One to Pitch however many I’m allowed to go,” Skubal said. “I feel like deeper into games, you just kind of get into a little bit better rhythm and your command cleans up as the game goes on, just the adjustments that happen. So when I feel confident commanding the ball that’s when I feel like I can really start letting it rip and it’s going to go where I want it to go. That’s probably where that comes from more than anything.”

If Skubal’s full arrival had been slightly delayed, Kyle Tucker’s has been lost in transit.

Tucker’s first season with the Dodgers – the free-agent signing that ruined baseball – has been a disappointment, most painfully in front of his new home fans. Tucker went into Saturday’s game batting just .186 at Dodger Stadium with no hits there since August 2.

A good portion of the home crowd tried to will him out of the slump with a loud ovation before his first at-bat Friday night. He had a chance to reward their positivity when he came up with the bases loaded in the seventh inning but flew out.

He had another chance with two runners on in the fourth inning Saturday but bounced into a forceout. Teoscar Hernandez and Alek Thomas followed with RBI singles to all but erase the Pirates’ getaway against Skubal.

Tucker got another chance in the fifth inning. Mookie Betts was hit by a pitch to start the inning and Max Muncy’s second double of the game put runners at second and third. After Tommy Edman grounded out, Tucker sent a single into right field, scoring both Betts and Muncy to give the Dodgers the lead.

If Dodgers fans felt Tucker needed a hug, his hit came off Pirates reliever Yohan Ramirez — who did get a hug from Roberts mid-game during a rough outing with the Dodgers in May 2024 – and ended an 0-for-25 stretch for Tucker at Dodger Stadium.

It was a dry spell that veteran infielder Miguel Rojas acknowledged during the Dodgers’ post-game toast after clinching a series victory, pointing out Tucker “didn’t have a hit in the last three homestands.”

Skubal passed that one-run lead to the bullpen in the eighth. A one-out double and a passed ball put the tying run at third base for the Pirates but Evan Phillips struck out Bryan Reynolds and Jack Dreyer came in to do the same with Cruz. Tanner Scott closed it out in the ninth for the third one-run decision during this winning streak.

Orange County Register

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Tarik Skubal settles in as Dodgers rally past Pirates

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