CINCINNATI –– Every day, Tarik Skubal learns something new about playing for the Dodgers.
Monday’s lesson: Clinching a playoff spot warrants only subtle celebrations.
“It’s different than anything I’ve experienced, for sure,” Skubal chuckled on Monday night, after the Dodgers recognized their 14th consecutive postseason berth with only a subdued postgame champagne toast and brief speech from manager Dave Roberts.
“But,” the club’s new star pitcher added, “I think it just speaks to the people in this room and what they expect out of this team. That was cool. A little toast and move on. Forget it happened. We’ve got more to accomplish this season.”
Consider it the latest step in Skubal’s acclimation process with the Dodgers –– another little moment that made him feel more at home with his new team.
He’s now six weeks on from his emotional trade from the Detroit Tigers at the deadline.
And he’s starting to find a comfort level that, after an uneven start to his Dodgers tenure, is helping him look more like the star pitcher he is accustomed to being.
“Constantly learning each other and developing relationships –– a lot of that stuff you don’t realize, no one writes about that kind of relationship –– but I think it matters, it matters a lot. I probably underestimated that a little bit,” said Skubal, who had spent the entirety of his career in Detroit before his marquee move to the Dodgers.
“But just communicating, having an open dialogue with everyone, all these guys, on what I like to do, what I’m comfortable with and honestly what I’m uncomfortable with … I think we’re developing a real good relationship,” he added.
And as a result, as manager Dave Roberts noted, “I think the last couple [outings he has made] have been his best.”
That was certainly true on Monday, when Skubal spun a gem with the Dodgers’ postseason berth in the balance.
He delivered his first scoreless start with the team by blanking the Reds over seven innings at Great American Ball Park. He gave up just three hits and one walk while striking out nine batters in a 90-pitch domination.
“To take the mound on the night that we had a chance to clinch, and we did it,” Roberts said, “I think that’s something he should be proud of.”
More important to Skubal was the way it reflected his growing familiarity with the Dodgers’ catchers and pitching department.
He noted he only shook Will Smith off one time all night. He praised the rhythm he has developed with pitching coaches in pre-game prep meetings. And he credited it all with helping him eliminate some perfectionist tendencies that hampered his first month with the team (when he gave up nine runs in 24 innings while lacking the ruthless efficiency that made him a reigning back-to-back Cy Young Award winner).
“I think a lot of the struggles have been ‘me vs. me,’ thinking too much out there and not competing the way I know how to compete,” Skubal said. “Sometimes I try to be too perfect with things instead of just attacking guys over the middle of the plate and letting my stuff play, especially early in games, behind in the count, just not trying to be too fine.”
To put it more simply, Skubal added, it was a process of “trying to find the rhythm of who I know I am.”
And to people around the team, it’s no coincidence that has happened as he’s carved out a place in his new clubhouse, as well.
“He’s just chill,” pitching coach Mark Prior said. “You can joke around with him. You can talk to him.”
Few players have grown closer with Skubal than Blake Snell to this point. They’ve sat side-by-side in the dugout during games, locked in constant conversation. They were pulling practical jokes on one another Tuesday, knocking over each other’s chairs in the clubhouse. They’ve even begun making Step Brothers-inspired jokes about being new best friends on social media.
“I think we’re best friends,” Snell deadpanned. “Some days, he agrees.”
Snell told the California Post that their relationship blossomed naturally, with Snell immediately being struck by how Skubal was “very confident and very secure with who he is” even amid new surroundings.
Two other observations:
“I didn’t think he was that funny,” Snell joked, describing a side of Skubal that came out Monday night when he razzed backup catcher Hunter Feduccia about a snazzy short-sleeve dress shirt and matching pair of brown slacks (“Outfit of the day!” Skubal declared).
“And,” Snell added, “I like how competitive he is. Because it just makes both of us so much better.”
That latter dynamic could fuel the Dodgers’ entire rotation moving forward, especially entering a postseason in which the group will likely have to carry the team.
“Every time one of our boys go, we want them to dominate, and then the next man up wants to do even better,” Snell said. “I think that’s very important, to know that we’re supporting each other and we’re pushing each other to be great, and that we’re not focused on just our own achievements. We’re focused on our group of starting pitchers all succeeding.”
Pitching coach Mark Prior echoed those sentiments, noting that with Skubal specifically: “He wants to have fun. And he wants to win.”
Lately, Skubal has been, now on a four-start stretch with only five runs allowed in his last 26 innings.
For the Dodgers, it’s a sign of his growth process since being acquired by the club; one that could prove crucial in their three-peat ambitions.
“It’s hard to get in that rhythm [and develop] that trust,” Roberts said. “But for me, I see just more of the trust in whatever is called, and then you can just go out there [be himself].”
