Dodgers 2, Tigers 1: Tarik Skubal returned to Detroit and ended a 3-game slide with 6 strong frames

Chad Moriyama 08/28/2026 Uncategorized Leave A Comment

The Tigers gave Tarik Skubal a nice tribute minutes before he made his start, which had him emotional and was arguably a bit of gamesmanship on their part.

Welcome back, Skub ? pic.twitter.com/t0iyNgpO3R
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) August 28, 2026

No matter, as he came out on fire and only allowed a single run over six frames and continued to look like the guy they traded for. Unfortunately the offense continued to struggle for the most part, but they scratched across one and then two runs, as the pen hung on for dear life in a 2-1 victory over the Tigers.

——

This begins and ends with Tarik Skubal’s return to Detroit, and fortunately he mostly continued how he finished last time out against the Pirates.

After a lead-off double seemed like it might continue his first-inning struggles, Skubal then retired the next 12 in a row, including striking out the side in the 3rd.

Tarik Skubal strikes out the side in the 3rd. 6 through 3. pic.twitter.com/KCIbJP5RXS
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) August 28, 2026

The 5th started with another chance for the Tigers with a lead-off double, but Skubal looked to navigate around it with two outs. However, after getting ahead of Max Clark, he lashed a 1-2 fastball down the line in left for a triple to make it 1-0 Tigers.

NEEDED A SPARK ⚡️ @maxxclarkk13 pic.twitter.com/X6WyBLY5R4
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) August 29, 2026

Skubal then got the last out of the 5th and worked around a lead-off single in the 6th, but that was surprisingly it for him.

Wasn't that much to it. Not happy, obviously. https://t.co/2qYro7qYQa pic.twitter.com/zYzkVmyORD
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) August 29, 2026

My guess is it has to do with the emotions of the day: 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 7 K, 83 Pitches.

Taking Skubal out after 83 pitches now has to be like something the staff sees with adrenaline/emotion wearing him down, right?
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) August 29, 2026

Either way, he continued to look good.

Tarik Skubal strikes out 7 in 6 innings of one-run ball in his return to Detroit. pic.twitter.com/NjR4jXLOgz
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) August 29, 2026

——

Fortunately, he did manage to exit with a tie, though only barely.

Tigers starter Drew Anderson faced traffic all game, but managed to keep the Dodgers at bay. He issued a pair of two-out walks in the 1st, a lead-off and two-out walk in the 3rd (a double play between), and a pair of one-out singles in the 4th (double play ended the rally) … but nothing doing for the offense.

That deepened in the 5th when a lead-off single, a one-out walk, and two-out infield single loaded the bases up and ended Anderson’s night. Drew Sommers then entered and got a huge strikeout of Max Muncy.

DAWG DAYS OF SOMMER ? pic.twitter.com/wKl1H2vfq5
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) August 28, 2026

Frustrating.

Sommers continued in the 6th, getting a one-out gift on a Kyle Tucker grounder that Kevin McGonigle threw into the stands for a two-base error. Enrique Hernandez pinch-hit for Alek Thomas and singled to right, which led to Dino Ebel taking a chance. He sent Tucker and Ben Malgeri came up gunning and cut him down with a great throw.

got 'em ? pic.twitter.com/2eRqQaL3as
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) August 29, 2026

Ebel is an easy target to blame there, but with Teoscar Hernandez slumping badly behind him and the general struggles, it probably wasn’t the worst risk.

It did look bad when Teoscar followed with a walk then Miguel Rojas hit for Hunter Feduccia and singled to center to score Enrique to tie things at 1-1.

Rojas hits the first pitch he sees off the bench for a game-tying single. pic.twitter.com/asWAyOq6zR
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) August 29, 2026

In the 7th, they had a chance for the lead against Tyler Holton, as they got a lead-off single and a two-out wild pitch, followed by a hit batter and then a walk to load things up again. Jacob Waguespack took over and got Enrique to pop out to strand things again.

Waguespack continued in the 8th and the Dodgers finally got something across. A Teoscar single was bunted to second by Ben Rortvedt, and after a groundout, Freddie Freeman came up with a two-out single for a 2-1 Dodgers lead.

Freddie singles to give the Dodgers the late lead. pic.twitter.com/MpZ3SGCijV
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) August 29, 2026

Tyler Kinley then allowed a two-out walk, steal, and walk, but again, the Dodgers couldn’t get it going.

——

For the pen, Evan Phillips began and continued to look good in striking out the side in the 7th. Things didn’t look as good for Brock Stewart to start the 8th, as a walk and a single put him into trouble, but he got a double play to put him on the verge of escape. He then fell behind 3-0 to Hao-Yu Lee, which is when Dave Roberts choose to intentionally put him on.

Alex Vesia pitched to Kevin McGonigle, who hit it 106 MPH but thankfully to dead center for an out. Thankfully, Tanner Scott made things less stressful in the 9th with a pair of strikeouts in a clean frame to secure the win.

======