After the Tigers traded Tarik Skubal, he has been vocal about missing Detroit and even said that he wished the Tigers would sign him again during free agency. Though no longer the Tigers’ ace, Skubal had his homecoming on Friday night. Comerica Park welcomed Skubal with mostly cheers as he returned, donning Dodger blue. After debuting with the Detroit Tigers and pitching for the club ever since, it was an emotional day for him. So, when Dave Roberts pulled him early, he did not appear pleased. But the manager had his own reasoning.
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“I thought he was good. I thought today was one of those days I could tell that there was some emotion walking onto the field out of the pen. You could see his emotion with that tribute and, obviously, his first time back here, weighing heavily on him,” Dave Roberts said, per SportsNet LA.
Tarik Skubal will become a free agent at the end of this season. He is likely to secure one of the biggest starting pitching contracts in MLB. Teams will definitely enter a bidding war to snag the back-to-back Cy Young Award winner, but before free agency, the Dodgers have Skubal for the next three months, including the playoffs, and they have been maximizing his use. Skubal, who recently had arthroscopic surgery, even threw a career-high 109 pitches. However, Friday night scenes at Comerica Park were a little different.
During their 2-1 win over the Tigers, Skubal helped the Dodgers break their 3-game skid. He pitched six solid innings, allowing 4 hits and 1 run, and fanned 7 strikeouts. But Dave Roberts pulled him from the mound after 83 pitches, 56 of which were strikes. The broadcast cameras caught Skubal sitting inside the visitors’ dugout, not looking entirely pleased as Roberts explained something to him.
“He did a great job once the game started. Going out there, competing, and helping us win a ballgame,” Roberts added, per SportsNet LA. “So I think for me, it’s the last couple of starts I’ve pushed him into 107, 106 pitches, something like that. So, sort of predetermined, kind of trying to shorten him was the idea for me. But yeah, I mean, he did a great job, and it was good to see him get that welcome from the fans.”
Skubal’s first outing in Detroit since the trade started on a hilarious note as his PitchCom malfunctioned before he could even throw a pitch. If the emotions were weighing heavily on him, perhaps a break in tension was what Skubal needed to settle him. While former manager A.J. Hinch and bench coach stifled their laughter, the tech team got the issue sorted.
Skubal returned to the mound once everything was back in its place. With cheers and a few boos as background noise, the 29-year-old allowed a double to Gleyber Torres on the first pitch. But he kept the Tigers scoreless until the bottom of the fifth, when Valencia scored on Max Clark’s triple. He did not allow any more runs to the Tigers’ lineup. The Dodgers relievers also tossed three scoreless innings, limiting the Tigers to one run.
The Dodgers tied the score in the sixth inning as Rojas drove in an RBI single. Freddie Freeman batted in the tie-breaking run as Teoscar Hernandez sealed the score at 2-1.
Ultimately, Skubal’s frustration was a reflection of how badly he wanted to keep competing against his former team. While his reaction may have caught attention, Roberts understood the moment and stood by his decision.