New Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tarik Skubal was as advertised in Dodger Blue, delivering an ace-level performance against the Chicago Cubs.
Skubal’s final line was six innings pitched, four hits, six strikeouts, two walks, and two earned runs. He totaled 85 pitches, and while he had more in the tank, the Dodgers opted to play it safe.
Skubal had his whole arsenal flowing as his sinker, fastball, and changeup were all painting the edges of the strike zone.
He mixed in his slider and curveball as well, with all five pitches really shining, placed in tempting areas, and having a good movement profile.
Skubal allowed just two hard-hit balls, showing he was a tad unlucky to have four hits on the night, but he also got a really good 31% chase rate on pitches.
His fastball velocity was up 0.6 MPH from his season average, at 97.3 MPH. In fact, all of his pitches were up compared to his seasonal average, highlighting how high his adrenaline was for his Dodgers debut.
Mind you, he did all of this at a ballpark that the two-time Cy Young winner has never pitched at in his lengthy career.
The outrage behind Tarik Skubal’s debut
The Dodgers’ massive payroll and eye-popping amount of talent have caused an uproar and reached a true fever pitch after the trade for Skubal, which had nothing to do with the Dodgers’ ability to spend, but rather their careful scouting.
However, this did not stop the whole MLB world from calling for a salary cap and repeating the age-old “Dodgers are ruining baseball” talk.
The frustration crossed over into Skubal’s start, as he was booed on his way to the bullpen during the pregame, and there were chants of “Skubal” from the Cubs home crowd as well.
For the Dodgers, the outrage is more of the same from the past few years, while for Skubal, it must be something quite unique.
The Dodgers’ ace is not shy about clapping back at detractors who try to diminish what LA has done.
“I don’t really sympathize with people that blame the Dodgers for anything they’ve done,” he said.
“They’ve developed a really good organization. They draft well. They acquire talent really well. They retain talent. It’s a winning organization. Now the complaints seem to be [happening] because they’ve won the last two World Series. I don’t think it was like that three years ago. So I don’t really sympathize with people that are complaining. Because the Dodgers do all the right things.”
The Dodgers and fans will hope doing “all the right things” pays off with a three-peat.
