Los Angeles Dodgers ace Tarik Skubal had a lot of eyes on him and pressure as he took the mound in the first game of a possible three-peat, and he met expectations.
Tarik Skubal dominates
Right out of the gate, Skubal was not pitching his best. He allowed a leadoff single and did not get a strikeout during the first fram, instead getting two groundouts and a popout.
For a pitcher known for his stuff and whiffs, it was not the expectation, but from the second inning until the sixth inning, he looked like a monster.
Through five innings, Skubal had a shutout going, allowing just one hit and striking out seven.
His fastball was averaging 98.1 miles per hour, 1.3 mph on his season average. All of his other pitchers were cranked up as well, with the velocity 0.6 mph higher than average or more.
He retired 15 batters in a row before giving up another hit.
A rough ending
Things got tricky for him in the sixth inning, when Skubal allowed a lead-off home run to Sean Murphy. Then, he walked the No. 9 hitter, Ha-Seong Kim.
Skubal got two straight groundouts after that, but he walked Ozzie Albies to load the bases, with super-slugger Matt Olson coming to the plate.
He battled and got the final out, getting out of a jam with a shallow outfield pop-up.
With 94 pitches, that was curtains for Skubal.
The soutpaw still finished with ust two hits allowed, two walks, and seven punchouts. Realistically, he had just one errant pitch and the Braves could not touch his stuff.
Can Skubal pitch again?
Thanks to the Dodgers scoring three runs in the sixth inning after Skubal finished his work, he left the game at 94 pitches.
The ending was rocky, but he could have gone another inning if needed. Instead, he gets to save some fuel for a possible Game 5 apperance.
The Braves struggle against lefties, and Skubal would be an ideal reliever for a Game 5 to take advantage of the match-up.
