LOS ANGELES -- Tarik Skubal's return to Detroit brought a sense of closure. With that behind him, he's focused on the stretch run and everything that comes afterward.
Coming off an emotional start against his former team, Skubal is looking to keep his momentum going when he takes the mound for Thursday night's series finale against the Cardinals at Dodger Stadium. When he pitched in Detroit on Friday, Skubal shed a few tears when the Tigers played a tribute video before his start but managed to channel his emotions, tossing six strong innings of one-run ball.
"There was a lot of heavy heart, emotions," manager Dave Roberts said. "So I think this was the last box he had to check. I think he’s got four or five starts with us, so now we can push forward, and all feel good about it."
Since being dealt to the Dodgers ahead of the Trade Deadline, Skubal has tried to keep his sights set on the future rather than dwell on the past. That may be easier to do now that the series against the team that drafted and developed him is over.
"Obviously getting traded, I’m trying to throw myself into being an L.A. Dodger," Skubal said. "Get to know this team and get to know this staff and get to know everything, get settled in with everybody here, and then go out and compete and try to win as many baseball games as I can here."
In five starts as a Dodger, Skubal has gone 1-2 with a 3.00 ERA. He has really hit his stride in his last few outings, allowing five earned runs in 19 innings (2.37 ERA) and striking out 25 against three walks.
Last time out, Skubal was limited to just 83 pitches after clearing the century mark in each of his prior two starts. That was Roberts' way of managing his workload, as well as accounting for the mental toll of returning to Detroit. Skubal is unlikely to be shortened up to that same extent going forward, but the Dodgers are mindful of keeping him fresh for what they hope will be another deep postseason run.