The Dodgers have officially tapped left-hander Tarik Skubal to start Game 1 of the National League Division Series against the Atlanta Braves. The announcement was made official Friday, with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday.
Skubal, a two-time Cy Young Award winner acquired from the Detroit Tigers at the trade deadline, was informed of the decision by manager Dave Roberts after his final regular season outing. Roberts delivered the news, telling him to "Get ready for Game 1" following an efficient seven-inning shutout against the San Francisco Giants, a start Skubal felt he could have completed.
Roberts expressed satisfaction with delivering the message, calling it "a good one, a fun one." He noted that while Yoshinobu Yamamoto might have been an "easy kind of thought" for the Game 1 nod, the team has specific reasoning behind its decisions. Skubal, for his part, expressed his readiness, saying it’s an "honor and a privilege to start Game 1" and acknowledging the trust placed in him by the coaching staff, teammates, and the organization.
Since joining the Dodgers, Skubal has proven to be the top-of-the-rotation arm he was advertised as, posting a 2.61 ERA in 10 starts. He closed out the regular season with a strong performance against the Giants, allowing only three hits over seven innings on an efficient pitch count before being pulled due to the team’s postseason planning.
Skubal is no stranger to playoff baseball, having made three starts in each of the Tigers’ postseason appearances over the last two years. All of those starts were on the road, where he typically received boos. He’s looking forward to a different reception at home, anticipating a "ton of fun in front of this atmosphere."
Dodger fans heading to the game should heed Skubal’s advice: "Hopefully everyone is drinking a lot of water and staying hydrated." Weather reports forecast temperatures reaching 100 degrees on Saturday, so it is indeed going to be a hot one.
While the full pitching rotation for the series has not been entirely revealed, Blake Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto are expected to pitch in Game 2 and Game 3, though not necessarily in that order. Shohei Ohtani, meanwhile, is reportedly not at full health, though the Dodgers have demonstrated in the past their ability to win postseason games without him at 100 percent. Yamamoto pitched to batters during a Dodgers workout on Wednesday, and a typical five days of rest would line him up to start Game 3 in Atlanta on Tuesday, potentially also setting him up for NLCS Game 2 and Game 6 should the Dodgers advance.
Roberts described the process of planning the rotation as "good," emphasizing the importance of the current series while also finding it "prudent to kind of map out potentially how they could line up" for future games. He highlighted the advantage of having "four guys essentially that you could really kind of pick through to figure out what’s the best way to deploy all four starters," calling it a luxury not all teams possess.
Their opponent, the Atlanta Braves, advanced to the NLDS after defeating the Philadelphia Phillies in three games in the wild-card round. Roberts noted that the Braves are "dangerous" because they have already been in the fight, have their intensity up, can manage emotions, and are coming out of the series with momentum. To counter this, Roberts stated the Dodgers aim "to not let their pitching staff come up for air," by exhausting the Braves' starter and forcing them to deploy their bullpen arms as early as possible.
This approach contrasts with the Braves’ recent tactical decision to use their ace, Chris Sale, in relief during Game 3 of their wild-card series against the Phillies.
