SAN FRANCISCO -- Tarik Skubal was showing no signs of slowing down in what was shaping up to be his most dominant start as a Dodger. But after throwing seven scoreless innings on 75 pitches, the southpaw was shaking hands and receiving hugs in the visitors' dugout at Oracle Park.
Skubal struck out 10, gave up just three hits and faced two batters over the minimum in his final regular-season start on Friday night. His pitch count was in such a good spot that he could have made a bid for the second "Maddux" of his career. But when the bottom of the eighth inning came around, Skubal remained in the dugout and Roki Sasaki relieved him on the mound.
While manager Dave Roberts has maintained that the Dodgers won't approach their final games of the season differently with the No. 2 postseason seed locked in, Friday night's 2-0 win over the Giants was an example of how having nothing left to play for changes the calculus of in-game decisions.
Had this game taken place a week ago, Skubal may have stayed in to finish off his gem. But the Dodgers had already planned on having Sasaki pitch on Friday, and with only two additional games remaining for him to prepare for his postseason bullpen role, they opted not to deviate from that plan.
Sasaki got his work in, tossing a 1-2-3 eighth inning with two strikeouts in his second appearance back from the injured list. Tanner Scott closed out the victory, the Dodgers' 98th of the season.