Having seen their chances of gaining the top seed in the National League playoffs die in a two-game span, the Los Angeles Dodgers get an opportunity to coast into the postseason when they open a three-game road set against the San Francisco Giants on Friday.
Left-hander Tarik Skubal (11-7, 2.85 ERA) is scheduled to get his final tune-up for the postseason in the series opener for the Dodgers. He will be opposed by Giants right-hander Yunior Marte (0-1, 4.66).
While they can’t overtake the Milwaukee Brewers for the best record, the Dodgers (97-62) have clinched the NL West title and the second-best record in the league. The latter will earn them a first-round bye in the playoffs, meaning after Sunday’s regular-season finale in San Francisco, they won’t play again until next Saturday.
Skubal will be making his 10th start since he was acquired from the Detroit Tigers at the trade deadline. Los Angeles has won seven of his nine outings, including the last six.
Skubal wasn’t particularly effective in a five-inning start against the Giants last Saturday in which he allowed four runs, two on a home run by Victor Bericoto. The Dodgers supported him with seven runs in those five innings, allowing him to walk away with a win.
He has faced the Giants just three times in his career, going 2-1 with a 4.30 ERA.
Skubal should have additional firepower supporting him in the rematch as the Dodgers have brought Shohei Ohtani and Andy Pages back from injuries over the last three days.
Each got extensive playing time in the just-completed home series against the Padres, with Pages playing in all three games and Ohtani the last two, each going 3-for-9.
Both are expected to play significantly against the Giants, with the team getting five days off to start next week.
“I think we all know why it’s important,” Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman said about the importance of the first-round bye. “There’s a lot of us kind of limping toward the end here. It’s good to get those guys (Ohtani and Pages) back on the field, get some ABs in them and then rest up.”
Skubal will be matched up once again with Marte, who allowed six runs in 4 2/3 innings in the meeting in Los Angeles last week. A rookie facing the Dodgers for the first time, he served up a home run to Will Smith in taking the loss in his fourth major league appearance.
The Dodgers could see a familiar face late in the game with the Giants on Thursday having claimed their former closer, Camilo Doval, on waivers from the Pirates.
After 4 1/2 seasons in San Francisco in which he recorded 107 saves and was an All-Star in 2023, the Giants sent Doval to the New York Yankees last July for four prospects. One year and one day later, the Yankees flipped the right-hander to Pittsburgh, which in turn saw him pitch just 20 times before cutting him loose, allowing the Giants to snatch him back.
Interestingly, should Doval or another newcomer — catcher Zach Morgan — get into a game during the Dodgers series, the Giants (65-94) would tie the major-league record for number of players used in a season with 71. Should they both play, they would break the record.
Giants manager Tony Vitello joked to reporters Wednesday about the possibility of setting the record.
“I guess, you know, being the first year in the organization, you’d like to get to meet everybody,” he said. “So this is one way to do it.”
–Field Level Media
