Dodgers turn to LHP Tarik Skubal in Game 1 vs. Braves

LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Dodgers will have left-hander Tarik Skubal on the mound as their starter in Game 1 of the National League Division Series on Saturday against the Atlanta Braves. The decision gives Skubal the nod over fellow staff ace and 2025 playoff hero Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who was the Dodgers' Opening Day starter this season. 'It's an honor and a privilege to start Game 1 and have the trust in the coaching staff and my teammates and the organization to take the ball and go out there and do what I can do to put our team in a position to win,' Skubal said Friday. 'I'm excited for it.' The Dodgers acquired Skubal in an Aug. 2 trade from the Detroit Tigers that added the two-time defending American League Cy Young Award winner to the staff of the two-time defending champions. Skubal, 29, went 5-2 with a 2.61 ERA in 10 starts with the Dodgers after going 7-5 with a 2.79 ERA in 16 starts for the Tigers. In seven major league seasons, after starting his major league career for the Tigers in 2020, Skubal is 66-44 with a 3.02 ERA in the regular season. In the postseason with the Tigers the past two seasons, Skubal went 2-1 with a 2.04 ERA in six starts as Detroit advanced to the AL Division Series each time. 'Obviously the stage is a little bit different and the environments are a little bit different, but how I go out and execute and how I prepare and how I game-plan and all that stuff is going to be kind of the exact same,' Skubal said. 'That's kind of what I trust in any moment.' In two career starts against the Braves, Skubal is 0-1 with a 4.91 ERA over 11 innings, including a seven-inning start in April this season when he gave up two runs on five hits in a no-decision for the Tigers. After earning the win in both Games 6 and 7 of the World Series lasts season, Yamamoto went 14-9 with a 2.53 ERA in 28 starts this season. The right-hander pitched multiple innings in a Dodgers simulated game Wednesday. 'I think that we have such talented starters,' Skubal said. 'I think you can roll out any of us in any situation and you're going to be in a really good spot.'