nypost
SAN FRANCISCO — In his final regular-season appearance, Tarik Skubal resembled a finely tuned engine. After showing flashes but not consistent brilliance in his initial months with the Dodgers, the team's prized trade deadline acquisition rediscovered his two-time Cy Young Award-winning form on Friday night, slicing through the San Francisco Giants in a 2-0 victory that may hint at greater things in the playoffs.
Over seven scoreless innings, Skubal racked up 10 strikeouts and surrendered merely three hits. He did not walk a batter. He scarcely appeared fazed during an ultra-efficient 75-pitch masterpiece. Across his entire MLB career, the only outing that might surpass this stat line was his lone complete-game shutout last year against the Cleveland Guardians.
The Dodgers, naturally, did not require such a display to be convinced of Skubal's excellence. When they acquired him from the Tigers two months ago, they knew they had secured the one player available at this year's deadline capable of substantially elevating their World Series chances. Nevertheless, the left-hander's transition was not entirely smooth. He did not record a scoreless outing until two weeks ago in Cincinnati, when he blanked the Reds over seven innings with nine strikeouts and only three hits allowed. Even then, he promptly followed that up by allowing four runs in five innings against the Giants in his previous start, before spending a few days earlier this week away from the team on the bereavement list.
Friday's rematch at Oracle Park unfolded according to a completely different narrative. Skubal was staked to a 2-0 lead in the second inning after Teoscar Hernández and Andy Pages launched back-to-back home runs in a three-batter span (for Pages, it was his first long ball since returning from a fractured hand last week). From that point on, the 29-year-old Northern California native never faltered, overwhelming the Giants with a steady mix of fastballs and changeups to conclude the year with a 12-7 record and 2.72 ERA overall (including a 5-2 mark and 2.61 ERA in 10 starts with the Dodgers, the last four of which were all winning decisions).
In the process, Skubal reached 100 mph with his fastball for only the third time this season, while also generating 12 swings-and-misses on 25 swings with the pitch. His changeup proved equally effective, inducing a whiff on seven of the 14 times the Giants offered at it.
The only caveat to his gem: The Giants are fielding what is essentially a Triple-A lineup, as they stumble 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 envisioned when they traded for Skubal at the deadline. They will be hoping it is the start of more things to come in October.
Originally reported by nypost.