DETROIT — The bullpen gates swung open and out came Tarik Skubal, stepping onto the field he called home for the first seven seasons of his career.
It’s a field he’s paced before a start countless times. It’s where he won his first major-league game, one day shy of six years to the date. It’s where he punched his 1,000th career strikeout last July in what would ultimately be his final start as a Detroit Tiger. All that’s transpired in between? Just two American League Cy Young awards, two ERA titles, one triple crown and one heck of a story.
AJ Hinch said it best, hours before Friday’s first pitch.
“The first sight of (Skubal) in a different uniform is completely foreign,” the Tigers manager said. “He’s been in the English D at every level of his life since he’s been a pro and now we look up and it’s Dodger blue. And so that I think was just weird and unique and different and emotional in its own right.”
Up until earlier this month, the Tigers were all Skubal had ever known. But nothing about Friday’s pregame routine felt familiar. Skubal arrived on the visiting team’s bus, stored his things in the visiting team’s clubhouse and finished his pregame routine in the visiting team’s bullpen. Skubal is a Los Angeles Dodger now, an instrumental force in their quest for a third straight World Series title. He’s embraced his new organization, but that hasn’t lessened the impact he feels from his old one.
Roughly 20 minutes before Friday’s first pitch between the Dodgers and Tigers, Skubal fired off one last warm-up pitch and began his trek back to the dugout. Seemingly on cue, the scoreboard at Comerica Park turned to a tribute video. Fans stood up and delivered a standing ovation as Skubal walked across the field. He peered over his shoulder several times, watching the montage of highlights as the applause grew louder.
By the time he reached the infield, tears had welled in his eyes. Skubal pumped his chest and acknowledged a teammate across the field, then wiped his eyes with a towel draped over his shoulders. As he approached the dugout, he clapped his hands in gratitude, in unison with a stadium doing the same. He continued to blink back tears as he descended the dugout steps. Thankfully, he said, he made it out of sight and into the tunnel before more could fall.
“This is a place I’ve known my entire career since 2018,” Skubal said. “Yeah, it was special.”
Skubal threw six innings of one-run ball and struck out seven in his return to Comerica Park, but did not factor into the decision in the Dodgers’ 2-1 victory. His impact certainly factored into the emotions of the game. When he took the mound for the bottom of the first, he did so to some cheers and some jeers — but it was hard to decipher if most of the latter reactions were boos or “Skuuuub” — the chant that used to accompany his arrival on this field.
He acknowledged old friends as they dug into the box, grinning at Javier Báez, or nodding to Spencer Torkelson, someone he was especially close to. He said it was “weird” to face off against Dillon Dingler, his former batterymate. He tossed a ground ball to his former pitching coach Chris Fetter before the game started and laughed when Fetter fielded it cleanly.
None of that deterred Skubal from doing what he does best. After allowing a leadoff double to Gleyber Torres, Skubal retired 12 straight hitters. He breezed through six innings on 83 pitches and said he had more in the tank, but manager Dave Roberts had other plans. Noting Skubal’s heavy workload of late — the left-hander had amassed 100 pitches in each of his last two starts — plus the significance of the day and the emotions behind it, Roberts opted for an early hook.
“Today was one of those days; I could tell that there was some emotion,” Roberts said. “Walking onto the field, out of the ‘pen — you can see his emotion with that tribute, and obviously, first time back here, weighing heavily on him. But he did a great job of, once the game started, going out there and competing and helping us win a ballgame.”
That decision didn’t surprise Skubal’s old manager. AJ Hinch had predicted a shorter start might be on the docket Friday afternoon.
“I can’t speak for Dave or Tarik, but I would bet that (pitch count) is dialed back a little bit over the next handful of starts,” Hinch said. “When you get to October, all conversations sort of go inning by inning. And it doesn’t surprise me that they’re working their way through that initial courting session, so to speak, between player and manager.”
Skubal ultimately understood Roberts’ decision, but not before a conversation took place between the two in the dugout. From there, Skubal was simply an observer of one of the most impactful games of his life.
He wasn’t expecting the impact of his return to hit as hard as he did. He has poured his all into being a Dodger, from observing Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s bullpens to switching out pitch grips with Blake Snell. He had known since last weekend he’d be pitching in the series opener. He tried to stick to a routine and keep things as normal as possible.
“I said I wasn’t gonna be (emotional), but I’ve come to figure out I don’t really know myself that well,” Skubal laughed. “It did catch me by surprise.”
Overall, Skubal’s highly-anticipated return to the Motor City exemplified the respect and appreciation he has for the Tigers. When the game ended, he spent roughly 20 minutes on the field catching up with various former teammates, coaches and staff members. He has plans to catch up with Hinch over the weekend, someone he remains in regular contact with.
But as Skubal walked off the mound in the sixth, a flyout by Dingler the final out of his night, there was no confusion over where his loyalty now lies.
“I’m trying to throw myself into being an L.A. Dodger,” Skubal said. “Get to know this team and get to know this staff and get to know everything, get settled in with everybody here, and then go out and compete and try to win as many baseball games as I can here.”
— Cody Stavenhagen contributed to this story.
