SAN FRANCISCO –– In his final tune-up of the regular season, Tarik Skubal looked like a well-oiled machine.
After looking good, but not often great, in his first couple months with the Dodgers, the team’s marquee trade deadline acquisition tapped back into his two-time Cy Young-winning form on Friday night, carving up the San Francisco Giants in a 2-0 win that could portend big things in the playoffs.
“That was the best we’ve seen,” manager Dave Roberts said. “He was on a mission tonight. You could see it. Everything was working … Incredibly good.”
During his scoreless seven-inning start, Skubal struck out 10 batters and allowed just three hits. He didn’t issue a walk. He hardly even looked stressed during an uber-efficient 75-pitch domination.
In his entire MLB career, the only time he posted a better stat line might have been in his lone complete-game shutout last year against the Cleveland Guardians.
“It’s just pitching aggressive and challenging them,” Skubal said. “Tough park to hit in. And the wind seemed like it was blowing in, kind of keeping fly balls in the yard tonight. So just challenge them and see how far they can hit it.”
The Dodgers, of course, didn’t need proof of such excellence from Skubal.
When they acquired him from the Tigers two months ago, they knew they had landed the one player available at this year’s deadline capable of significantly boosting their World Series odds.
Still, the left-hander’s acclimation process wasn’t exactly seamless.
He felt like he was being “a little too fine” at times, recording only one start without a walk in his first nine Dodgers outings. He didn’t have a scoreless performance until two weeks ago in Cincinnati, when he blanked the Reds over seven innings with nine strikeouts and only three hits allowed. And even then, he turned right back around and allowed four runs in five innings against the Giants his last time out –– showing visible frustration with himself before spending a few days earlier this week away from the team on the bereavement list.
“I’m not attacking the way I know how to attack,” he said. “My stuff’s too good to give a guy a free pass.”
Friday’s rematch at Oracle Park followed an entirely different script.
Skubal was handed a 2-0 lead in the second, after Teoscar Hernández and Andy Pages hit a pair of home runs in a three-batter sequence (for Pages, it was his first long ball since returning from a fractured hand last week).
And from there, the 29-year-old Northern California native never looked back.
He pounded the Giants with a steady diet of fastballs (even hitting 100 mph at one point for only the third time this year) and changeups (commanding it better than he had for most of the last couple months) while also starting out with a first-pitch strike to 21 of his 23 batters.
“First-pitch strikes [are important],” Skubal said. “Today’s game gets very analytical. I think when I’m really good, it’s at the old-school stuff. Like getting ahead, winning your 1-1 counts, getting guys out in three or four pitches.”
Did Skubal think he “bullied” the Giants’ overmatched offense?
“I’m not going to use that word,” he joked. “That’ll make a pretty good headline if I say that.”
With Friday’s performance, Skubal finished his regular season with a 12-7 record and 2.72 ERA overall. Following his trade to the Dodgers, he went 5-2 and posted a 2.61 ERA in 10 starts, the last four of which were all winning decisions.
“Those numbers are great,” he said. “I think there’s just some things where I could be better. Today was a really good day. But I’ve also had some kind of poor performances … I think there’s always room for improvement. I’m not really satisfied with anything I’ve accomplished so far.”
The only caveat to Friday’s gem: The Giants are trotting out what is effectively a Triple-A lineup, as they limp to the end of a dismal 2026 season in which all of their big stars first struggled, then got hurt.
Still, there are worse ways to enter the playoffs than off the back of what was arguably his most complete start all season.
Friday, after all, was exactly what the Dodgers were envisioning when they traded for Skubal at the deadline.
They will be hoping it’s the start of more things to come in October.
