“The Best We’ve Seen”: Dave Roberts Praises Tarik Skubal After Giants Masterclass

Tarik Skubal dismantled the San Francisco Giants in 75 pitches, his sharpest outing since joining the Los Angeles Dodgers. After struggling against the Giants six days ago, the Dodgers’ marquee trade deadline acquisition finally looked like his two-time Cy Young Award-winning self. Skubal’s latest outing gave us a glimpse at just how good he can be in the postseason, and manager Dave Roberts was thoroughly impressed.

“That was the best we’ve seen. He was on a mission tonight. You could see it,” Dave Roberts told the reporters after the game, per Sportsnet LA. “Everything was working, and he just went after those guys and did a fantastic job. Pounded the zone. Everything was working tonight. Efficient.”

Since the Dodgers acquired Skubal at the August 3 trade deadline, the former Tigers ace has needed time to acclimatize. He walked batters often and gave up as many as four runs during an outing. Before Friday, Skubal only recorded one scoreless start when he threw 7 innings against the Cincinnati Reds. He allowed three hits, walked one, and struck out 9 in the 90-pitch outing. It was a good one, but Skubal was even better in his final regular-season start.

During the Dodgers’ 2-0 win over the Giants, Skubal recorded one of the best starts in his career. For seven scoreless, walkless innings, he decimated the opponents, fanning 10 and allowing only 3 hits. The Dodgers failed to provide run support beyond solo shots from Teoscar Hernandez and Andy Pages, but Skubal hardly needed any. He threw 60 strikes in 75 pitches; a performance perhaps only second to his last season’s historic ‘Maddux’ while playing for the Tigers.

“He’s going to come right at you, so maybe we could have been a little more aggressive early. But the bottom line is, he was sharper than the other night [in L.A.], and maybe we weren’t as sharp,” said Giants’ manager Tony Vitello, per MLB.com.

A week ago, when Tarik Skubal threw against the Giants at Dodger Stadium, he lasted only 4 innings and allowed 4 runs. Skubal later revealed that he struggled to command his fastball. He believed the lack of command mainly contributed to the subpar results.

On Friday, he redeemed the fastball command and more. Skubal never wavered, generating 21 whiffs on 43 swings (48.8%), including a season-high 12 on his fastball, per MLB.com. His latest outing proved that Skubal is ready to join the Dodgers postseason rotation, which includes ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, and Tyler Glasnow. He will help the Dodgers chase a World Series three-peat.

Skubal also credited accurate pitch calling for the incredible outing.

“I think it’s the key to who I am. I think it makes me who I am,” Skubal told MLB.com. “I don’t know how many pitches I threw tonight, but felt like there were only like 14 or 15 balls out of however many throws. … I’m not going to do that every time, but I think that just speaks to conviction and the pitch-calling.”

With his pitch count so low after 7 innings, and not looking even a little bit worn out, Skubal could have easily taken a chance at another Maddux, but the Dodgers’ manager had other plans.

Roki Sasaki and Dave Roberts bullpen plans

With a straight entry to the NLDS already secured, the stakes are not as high in the last series of the regular season. The Dodgers have taken this opportunity to test players in their playoff roles. Sasaki was scheduled to throw on Friday, giving Dave Roberts the chance to evaluate him. Sasaki will be pitching out of the bullpen in the postseason.

It was only his second outing after the Dodgers activated him from the 15-day IL on September 21. The Dodgers had placed him on the IL because of a blister on his right middle finger.

Sasaki was sharp against the Giants. Coming out of the bullpen, he struck out two while throwing a 1-2-3 eighth.

“I think the fastball is better. I think the split’s better, and it’s also nice that he’s already done it. So, in total, he’s just a better pitcher than he was last year,” Roberts told reporters about Sasaki, per Sportsnet LA.

After Sasaki, Tanner Scott closed out the ninth inning to conclude the shutout game. After the regular season ends, the Dodgers will have five days off before the NLDS starts on October 3.

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