The Tarik Skubal Dodger Stadium debut did not go according to plan, but the Los Angeles Dodgers made sure it still ended in a win. The Dodgers held off the Kansas City Royals 6-5 on Monday night, giving the new ace and back-to-back American League Cy Young Award winner a winning outcome despite a shaky performance on the mound, according to the Los Angeles Times and MLB.com. Skubal, acquired by the Dodgers from the Detroit Tigers on Aug. 1, worked five innings and allowed three earned runs on four hits while striking out six across 95 pitches, MLB.com reported. He also walked two batters, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Skubal struggled to command his fastball throughout the night in front of an eager Chavez Ravine crowd that had eagerly awaited his Dodger Stadium debut. "I kind of sprayed the ball a little bit," Skubal said after the game, according to the Los Angeles Times. "That's kind of unusual for me, especially with my command, but I thought I competed well and gave our team a chance to win."
The Royals jumped on Skubal early. Kansas City took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Nick Loftin singled off a 98.5 mph fastball and Bobby Witt Jr. reached on a fielder's choice before stealing second, setting up an RBI single from Jac Caglianone, MLB.com reported. Caglianone did even more damage in the third inning, driving in a run with a two-strike ground ball up the middle before launching a two-run home run over the right-field wall on a 91.5 mph slider, extending Kansas City's lead to 3-0.
Skubal settled down as the game progressed, retiring the side in order on just seven pitches in the fourth inning, including a strikeout of Michael Massey on a 98.6 mph four-seam fastball, according to MLB.com. He closed out his outing in the fifth by striking out Caglianone on an 88.6 mph changeup with two runners on base, finally getting the better of the Royals rookie who had given him trouble all night.
The Dodgers' offense, which entered the game mired in a broader slump, provided the spark Skubal needed. Freddie Freeman recorded three of the team's 10 hits and drove in two runs, while Shohei Ohtani added two hits and scored twice, the Los Angeles Times reported. The turning point came in the sixth inning, when Max Muncy delivered a bases-loaded, three-run double on his bobblehead night at Dodger Stadium, pushing Los Angeles ahead 5-3 and energizing the crowd.
Kansas City would not go away quietly. Former Etiwanda High School star Kyle Isbel hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning to tie the game at 5-5, according to the Los Angeles Times. But the Dodgers answered immediately in the bottom half of the inning, as Ohtani singled, stole second base, and then scored the go-ahead run on a Freeman single to right field, giving Los Angeles the 6-5 advantage it would not relinquish.
The win snapped a rough stretch for the Dodgers (71-48), who had lost eight of their previous nine games entering Monday, including being swept by both the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs, per the Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles had dropped seven straight games before finally winning Saturday in Arizona, only to lose again Sunday to the Diamondbacks. The Royals fell to 49-71 with the loss.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts credited his lineup's approach in the win. "I saw that urgency tonight which we've got to build on from here on out," Roberts said, according to the Los Angeles Times. Freeman, however, pushed back gently on the notion that the team needed to change its mentality. "There's going to be no panic out of this clubhouse," Freeman said. "I understand what Doc's saying, but baseball's a little different. I can't go out there and swing harder and throw harder. That's just not how it works."
The slump has been notable given the Dodgers' overall offensive numbers. Roberts pointed out that Los Angeles ranks fourth in baseball in runs scored, but he acknowledged a specific weakness that opposing pitchers have exploited. According to analysis by The Athletic cited in the Los Angeles Times, no team in baseball has seen as dramatic an increase in the percentage of fastballs thrown against it as the Dodgers, a trend that has intensified since May. "It never feels good to be bullied," Roberts said. "And to know that teams go after us with the fastball more than any team in baseball, that's bothersome... So yeah, it's something that I hope our guys will take that personally. We shouldn't get bullied."
Monday's game also featured some notable moments with baseball's Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) challenge system. By the fifth inning, the Dodgers had exhausted their challenges, with Miguel Rojas unsuccessfully contesting a called strike that replay confirmed was in the zone, the Los Angeles Times reported. That followed a failed challenge by Andy Pages in the fourth inning; Pages has now had just 13 of his 24 career challenges confirmed as strikes.
For Skubal, the emotional weight of his first home start in a Dodgers uniform was evident. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel nerves," Skubal said, according to MLB.com. "I think nerves are a good thing. The day I'm pitching and I don't have nerves is probably the day I retire, because I think having nerves just means you care... This one was special to me."
Catcher Hunter Feduccia, who was reacquired by the Dodgers from the Tampa Bay Rays at the trade deadline, caught Skubal for the first time and came away impressed. "I was very impressed by his arsenal and how he goes about hitters," Feduccia said, per MLB.com. "He has a great idea of what he wants to do to hitters and he's very adamant about his attack."
Roberts, who has managed the Dodgers through multiple championship runs, said Skubal's demeanor stands out. "He's as different as anyone I've ever been around in this short period of time," Roberts said before the game, according to MLB.com. "He's just built differently -- the mind, the body, the focus, the humility, the willingness to serve and help."
Looking at Skubal's uneven command during his Dodger Stadium debut, Roberts attributed part of the issue to the emotion of the moment. "I think that there was an overexertion, which resulted in the fastball being more sprayed," Roberts said. "I think we're going to see a different guy as far as performance on Sunday."
The Dodgers' rotation faces another significant test Tuesday when left-hander Blake Snell is scheduled to return from the injured list. Snell has not pitched for Los Angeles since May 9 after undergoing surgery on his left elbow, the Los Angeles Times reported.
