The Los Angeles Dodgers edged the Detroit Tigers 2-1 on Friday night at Comerica Park, opening a pivotal three-game series with a narrow, late-inning victory in front of a Detroit crowd seeing Tarik Skubal for the first time since his trade away from the organization.
The Dodgers acquired the two-time Cy Young Award winner from the Tigers on August 2, and Friday marked his first appearance against his former team. Skubal spent six-and-a-half seasons with Detroit and won the last two American League Cy Young Awards before the trade sent him to Los Angeles in exchange for three prospects. The homecoming carried an unmistakable edge, with the left-hander taking the mound from the visitors' side of a ballpark where he built his reputation as one of baseball's premier arms.
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Skubal turned in a strong outing in his return, working six innings and allowing only the one run that Detroit managed to scratch across. The Tigers broke through in the bottom of the fifth when Max Clark tripled off Skubal to drive in the game's first run, temporarily pulling Detroit level. It proved to be the only real dent the Tigers' offense could make against their former ace, who exited having largely kept the lineup he knew best in check.
The Dodgers, who entered the night looking to snap a three-game road losing streak, answered late to secure the win, plating the decisive run in the later innings to hand Detroit its latest defeat in what has become a difficult stretch for the club. The result extended a rough patch for the Tigers, who came into the series having stumbled in their last several outings and continue to sit fourth in the American League Central, eight games back of first place. The Dodgers, by contrast, remain atop the National League West as they push toward the postseason.
The victory was the first true measuring-stick moment of the reunion for Skubal, who had gone through some uneven outings in his first several Dodgers starts before settling in against his old club. The series continues Saturday and concludes Sunday at Comerica Park, with Los Angeles looking to build on Friday's tight win as Detroit searches for a response in front of its home fans.