LOS ANGELES \u2013 Although Tarik Skubal didn’t meet his own high standards for execution in his first home start for the Los Angeles Dodgers, he was proud that he fought to keep his team in a game it eventually managed to win after he left.<\/p>\n
Skubal still intends to be much better than he was while allowing three runs on four hits over five innings Monday night in the Dodgers’ 6-5 victory<\/a> over the Kansas City Royals.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought I competed well and gave our team a chance to win, and our offense picked me up big-time, defense picked me up big-time, and the bullpen was outstanding tonight,\u201d Skubal said. \u201cSo all in all, a good team win, especially when I don\u2019t feel like I performed up to my standard.\u201d<\/p>\n Skubal left trailing 3-2 in the back-to-back Cy Young Award winner’s decent, if unspectacular, first start in the home whites. His fastball command was decidedly lacking, and he was unable to get ahead early in most counts during an outing in which he managed just one 1-2-3 inning. The fireworks came instead from the Dodgers’ slumbering offense, which awoke with Max Muncy’s three-run double and Freddie Freeman’s RBI single after Skubal departed.<\/p>\n Although he struck out six, Skubal didn’t live up to manager Dave Roberts’ pregame prediction of \u201can electric night\u201d for the vaunted left-hander and his slumping club, which had lost eight of nine heading into this homestand.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought he fought well,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cTarik didn’t have his best stuff, but he didn’t relent. He kept going, and he gave us what he had for tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n Even after everything he accomplished while becoming one of the majors’ top starters with the Tigers, Skubal was particularly amped up for this debut in front of 51,799 fans eager to cheer their team’s biggest trade-deadline addition in its bid to win three straight World Series titles. When Skubal was announced in the starting lineup for the first time, Dodgers fans responded with loud cheers and a serenade of \u201cSkuuuuuu!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis one was special to me, so the nerves run a little bit higher,\u201d Skubal said. \u201cBut it just means you care, so I think that\u2019s all positive stuff. I was excited to go out there and pitch in front of the Dodger fans. It was a ton of fun to play the game today.\u201d<\/p>\n Skubal threw 95 pitches against the Royals, and Jac Caglianone tagged two of them for a two-run homer and an RBI single. Skubal also issued two walks and hit a batter with a pitch in just his second career appearance at Dodger Stadium, taking the mound nine days after the defending champions acquired him from Detroit<\/a> in the biggest trade of the deadline.<\/p>\n Los Angeles gave up three promising prospects for what might be a short-term rental of the 29-year-old Skubal, who will likely reap the benefits of free agency this winter.<\/p>\n