{"id":786056,"date":"2026-08-23T05:45:36","date_gmt":"2026-08-23T05:45:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/786056\/"},"modified":"2026-08-23T05:45:36","modified_gmt":"2026-08-23T05:45:36","slug":"tarik-skubal-and-kyle-tucker-power-dodgers-to-fifth-straight-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/786056\/","title":{"rendered":"Tarik Skubal and Kyle Tucker power Dodgers to fifth straight win"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Tarik Skubal<\/a> hadn\u2019t delivered a signature outing, nor had he earned a win, over his first three starts with the Dodgers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And six minutes into Saturday\u2019s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the two-time defending American League Cy Young Award winner seemed on his way to his worst performance yet with his new club, giving up three runs on three hits.<\/p>\n

Then, the left-hander that manager Dave Roberts<\/a> has been waiting for finally arrived, giving up just two hits over the next six innings while striking out 11 in a 4-3 win<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously the first inning didn\u2019t go great,\u201d Roberts said after the series-clinching win. \u201cBut just seeing him on the attack after they got those two runners on in the second inning \u2014 from that point on, it was a different pitcher.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, that\u2019s the guy that we needed; completing seven innings, reset the bullpen; great outing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Skubal finally looked like himself, earning a standing ovation as he walked off the field in the seventh.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels good, obviously, to get the first one out of the way,\u201d said Skubal as \u201cScooby Doo Pa Pa\u201d by DJ Kass blared in the clubhouse. \u201cI didn\u2019t do a good job early in the game, but the boys picked me up and were able to keep us in a game. The offense got going, and that\u2019s all we needed to get a win today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kyle Tucker<\/a> was one of the Dodgers (79-51) who got going.<\/p>\n

Riding an 0-for-26 drought and hitting below the Mendoza Line at home, Tucker delivered a go-ahead, two-run single off Yohan Ramirez in the fifth, giving the Dodgers a lead they wouldn\u2019t relinquish.<\/p>\n

1 <\/p>\n

\"Kyle <\/p>\n

2 <\/p>\n

\"Dodgers' <\/p>\n

1. Kyle Tucker runs to first base after hitting a go-ahead, two-run single against the Pirates in the fifth inning Saturday. 2. Tucker gets a pat on the back from Dodgers manager Dave Roberts after the Dodgers\u2019 win. (Gina Ferazzi \/ Los Angeles Times) <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t, like, keep up with the stats like that,\u201d Tucker said. \u201cI\u2019m just trying to go up there … try and have a quality at-bat, whether it\u2019s working a long at-bat or drawing a walk, getting ahead [or] moving guys over.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roberts has been outspoken in his support of Tucker and was thrilled to see the four-time All-Star have a good moment in front of the 12th sold-out crowd at Dodger Stadium this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, everyone\u2019s talking about the splits and how much he struggled at home,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cBut I do think that the fans, every at-bat, cheering for him \u2014 you gotta feel that as a player. … It was really good for him to come through right there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another Dodger who came through was Alek Thomas<\/a>. Called up from triple-A Oklahoma City after center fielder Andy Pages sustained a hand fracture Friday<\/a>, Thomas delivered an RBI single off Pirates starter Jared Jones, a Whittier native, in the fourth.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a little while,\u201d said Thomas, who made his Dodgers debut after spending 55 games in Oklahoma City. \u201cSo, I\u2019m super glad to be back, and happy to help the team in any way, shape or form.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over parts of five seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Thomas heard his fair share of boos when playing in Dodger Stadium.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s funny, because they always hated me whenever I came out there in center field,\u201d said Thomas, who was acquired by the Dodgers<\/a> in May. \u201cI was, like, \u2018Come on, guys, I\u2019m Mexican too. You don\u2019t have to yell at me; like, we\u2019re on the same side here.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, obviously … it doesn\u2019t matter where you\u2019re from. \u2018If you\u2019re not a Dodgers guy, you\u2019re not my guy.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Dodgers <\/p>\n

Dodgers center fielder Alek Thomas points skyward next to first base coach Chris Woodward after hitting an RBI single in the fourth inning Saturday.<\/p>\n

(Gina Ferazzi \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

Relievers Evan Phillips, Jack Dreyer and Tanner Scott combined for two shutout innings. Dreyer struck out Oneil Cruz looking to end the top of the eighth with a runner on third, fighting off the Pirates\u2019 final gasp.<\/p>\n

The Dodgers, who have won five straight for the first time since late May, will look to sweep Pittsburgh (63-68) on Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m excited,\u201d\u2029Skubal said. \u201cYou got a ton of really good arms here and a ton of talent. It\u2019s just about us going out there and playing baseball and executing. And when we\u2019re doing that, we\u2019re the best team in the league.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tarik Skubal hadn\u2019t delivered a signature outing, nor had he earned a win, over his first three starts…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":786057,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2406],"tags":[664,22,5,39,14,3930,3654,2493,1165,4332,4333,774,57,3224,4331,4,10,7800,3215,1479,37732,235,19973,2022],"class_list":["post-786056","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles-dodgers","tag-alek-thomas","tag-arizona-diamondbacks","tag-baseball","tag-dodgers","tag-game","tag-hit","tag-innings","tag-jack-dreyer","tag-la","tag-la-dodgers","tag-ladodgers","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-dodgers","tag-losangeles","tag-losangelesdodgers","tag-mlb","tag-pirates","tag-rbi-single","tag-run","tag-season","tag-shape","tag-team","tag-triple-a-oklahoma-city","tag-win"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/117143242557845161","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786056","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=786056"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786056\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/786057"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=786056"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=786056"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=786056"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}