Left-hander Tarik Skubal continues to search for a signature outing as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
He will get another chance at it Tuesday night when the Dodgers host the Cincinnati Reds.
In his most recent outing, his sixth since arriving in Los Angeles in a trade from the Detroit Tigers last month, Skubal gave up 10 singles but held the St. Louis Cardinals to two runs over 5 2/3 innings in a 3-2 victory for the Dodgers on Thursday.
The two-time defending American League Cy Young Award winner has a 3.03 ERA in a Dodgers uniform, while the club has gone 4-2 in his six starts. But Skubal has gone just 1-2 in that time.
“I know we haven’t seen the best of him,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who still was impressed with the way Skubal weaved his way through traffic on the bases.
Skubal said he is close to finding his top form. He is 8-7 with a 2.86 ERA for the season.
“Just an inch and a half the wrong way, (and) some of them are like point-four (inches) the wrong way,” Skubal said. “It’s frustrating in the moment, but at the same time, the ball is going almost exactly where I want it to go.”
Skubal has faced the Reds just once in his career, giving up one run over seven innings with 13 strikeouts to earn the win in 2024.
Shohei Ohtani returned to the Dodgers’ lineup Monday after missing the previous four games with knee and biceps discomfort. He went 0-for-3 with a walk while striking out twice.
“During the season it’s hard to really feel 100%, so I wouldn’t say I’m there,” Ohtani said through an interpreter after Monday’s game.
The Dodgers earned their fifth straight victory, 6-3, in the series opener with the Reds, who are set to send left-hander Nick Lodolo (3-3, 5.08 ERA) to the mound on Tuesday.
The Los Angeles-area native gave up two runs on five hits over six innings of a no-decision against the San Diego Padres at home last Tuesday as Cincinnati won 4-3. He matched his season high with 100 pitches and was much improved after allowing a combined 10 runs over his previous two starts.
“I thought I made good pitches,” said Lodolo, who threw 59 pitches for strikes. “I would like to be in the zone still a little bit more. That’s something I’m hunting, for sure.”
Lodolo has two career starts against the Dodgers — both last season — and has gone 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA. In his lone outing at Dodger Stadium, he gave up four runs on five hits over 4 2/3 innings and took the loss last August.
Elly De La Cruz and Eugenio Suarez each hit a home run for the Reds on Monday. De La Cruz went deep on the fourth pitch of the game and continued his torrid stretch with two more hits.
Over his last six games, he is 12-for-24 with six runs, three home runs and seven RBIs. The three home runs have come in his past three games.
“I’m putting a lot of work in here before I go out there,” De La Cruz said, according to MLB.com. “I’ve just got to execute.”
–Field Level Media
