Tarik Skubal threw six dominant innings in Game 1 of the NL Division Series on Saturday. The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 5-3 at Dodger Stadium.
Skubal allowed one run and two hits. He struck out seven and walked two. After Drake Baldwin’s leadoff single, he retired 15 consecutive batters. Sean Murphy ended that streak with a home run to lead off the sixth.
Skubal threw a 101 mph fastball to Austin Riley in the second inning, then struck him out. It was Skubal’s first postseason start at home. His 63 career playoff strikeouts are the second-most through a pitcher’s first seven postseason appearances, behind Bob Gibson’s 74.
Blake Snell Sends Message on Tarik Skubal
Blake Snell will start Game 2 on Sunday evening at Dodger Stadium. The two-time Cy Young Award winner spoke about his friendship with Skubal ahead of that start.
The Dodgers acquired Skubal from the Detroit Tigers just before the Aug. 3 trade deadline. After the Dodgers clinched the NL West on Sept. 17, Skubal called Snell his “best friend” and “little brother.”
Snell described how the friendship developed.
“We’re very similar in a lot of ways. I think he’s super funny, he’s very confident and he’s an extremely good teammate,” he said. “But I didn’t expect us to be like great friends. The level of respect we have for each other, both being left-handed starters, both accomplishing a lot so far, I think that’s kind of pushed us.”
“We’ve very similar in a lot of ways. He’s super funny, he’s very confident. He’s an extremely good teammate.”
“I didn’t expect us to be great friends. The level of respect we have for each
“The friendship kind of grew and then we just started making jokes when we saw media like posting stuff of us and then we just kind of like ran off,” he added. We were always making fun of, joking around. It kind of just became a whole little thing, but all out of just jokes and being funny.”
The Dodgers lead the best-of-five series 1-0.
ESPN Projects $355 Million Contract for Tarik Skubal
Skubal can become a free agent after the World Series. ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel gathered 27 contract projections from industry insiders for a story published Friday.
The average projection was eight years and $355 million. ESPN put the average annual value at $44.6 million. Projections ranged from four years and $176 million to $500 million over nine or 10 years.
Sixteen of 27 projections, or 59%, called for $325 million to $400 million guaranteed over seven to 10 years. The $355 million average tops Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s 12-year, $325 million contract, the largest guarantee for a pitcher.
The Dodgers and New York Mets are serious bidders. The New York Yankees ranked just behind that group in total mentions.
Blake Snell Makes Personal Admission on Tarik Skubal During NLDS vs. Braves