Skubal 'as advertised' in brilliant opener, stakes Dodgers to 1-0 NLDS lead — SkimNews
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- Tarik Skubal allowed just two hits and one run over six innings in his Dodgers playoff debut, retiring 15 straight batters at one point with seven strikeouts, as Los Angeles beat Atlanta 5-3 in NLDS Game 1.
- Teoscar Hernandez broke a scoreless tie with a two-run homer in the fourth off Victor Mederos, and Kyle Tucker added a two-run shot off AJ Smith-Shaver in the sixth before Max Muncy went back-to-back to give the Dodgers a four-run cushion.
- Sean Murphy hit a solo homer to open the sixth and Ozzie Albies added a two-run shot off Tanner Scott in the ninth, but Atlanta's offense was otherwise silenced by Skubal, who reached 101 mph on the fastball and averaged 98.1 mph.
- Skubal became the first Dodgers pitcher to throw at least six innings while allowing two or fewer hits in a playoff debut, and his 0.72 postseason WHIP is the lowest in MLB history among pitchers with at least five starts.
- Acquired from the Tigers on Aug. 2 for prospects Zhyir Hope and River Ryan, Skubal posted a 2.61 ERA in 10 regular-season starts for Los Angeles and now trails only Bob Gibson (74) with 63 career postseason strikeouts through seven games.
- Dodgers manager Dave Roberts initially considered Yoshinobu Yamamoto for Game 1 and pulled Skubal after just 75 pitches on Sept. 25 to keep him fresh, a decision the pitcher himself questioned before proving it right.
Why it matters: The Dodgers sent two top prospects to Detroit in a trade-deadline deal explicitly built to upgrade for October, and Skubal delivered the kind of ace outing that justifies surrendering young talent months before free agency. With a 1-0 series edge and Snell still waiting in the rotation, Los Angeles has put Atlanta in a hole before the Braves' pitching can settle in.
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