It didn’t take Tarik Skubal long to make his impact on the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The two-time reigning AL Cy Young Award winner made his Dodgers debut against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Tuesday evening. The first batter he faced was Cubs star outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, who is right behind Shohei Ohtani in the 2026 NL MVP race.
Skubal and PCA battled for a few pitches. When the count reached 2-2, Skubal reared back and threw a filthy 99 mph fastball that dotted the outside corner, freezing Crow-Armstrong for a strikeout.
Skubal breezed through the rest of the inning, getting Seiya Suzuki to fly out to center field then having Alex Bregman ground out to shortstop to end the first frame.
Skubal looked completely comfortable in what’s his first time ever pitching in a Dodgers jersey, and the first time pitching at Wrigley Field.
That is despite the banners flying overhead pregame, dropping the notion that “the Dodgers ruined baseball.”
Skubal came back out in the second frame and tallied two more strikeouts, bringing his tally to three across two innings. He nearly gave up his first hit, but Kyle Tucker (the former Cubs standout who hit a home run for the Dodgers in the top of the second) made a diving play to keep Skubal’s stat line pristine.
Whether he’ll keep this form for the rest outing remains to be seen. But it’s definitely the start Skubal and the Dodgers were seeking.
