Tarik Skubal set to make first start for Los Angeles Dodgers on Aug. 4

Baseball fans got a glimpse of Tarik Skubal wearing Dodger blue.

It happened when the two-time Cy Young Award winner was in his new team’s dugout on Sunday, Aug. 2. Now the baseball world can see Skubal wearing Dodger blue where he’s at his best: On the pitcher’s mound.

Skubal, 29, is scheduled to make his first start for the Dodgers since Los Angeles acquired him in a trade with the Detroit Tigers. He’s set do it Tuesday, Aug. 4 at Wrigley Field in the second game of a three-game series against the Chicago Cubs.

He’ll head to the mound with a 7-5 record and 2.79 ERA, and he’s been better than that over the past five weeks. In his past six outings, Skubal has given up only eight earned runs in 37 innings for an ERA of 1.95. But his last outing with Detroit captured his life as a Tiger.

On July 29, Skubal gave up three earned runs in 6 2/3 innings. The Tigers led the Baltimore Orioles 7-1, only for the Orioles to rally for a 10-9 victory in 12 innings.

He looked dispirited after the game.

He looked ecstatic when he greeted Dodgers manager Dave Roberts in the team’s dugout Sunday night.

His scheduled start against the Cubs will be the chance for Dodgers fans to see Skubal on the mound in Dodger blue. And a chance for the baseball world outside of Los Angeles to grind their teeth in resentment.

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Tarik Skubal’s Cy Young career moments with Tigers

Tarik Skubal #29 of the Detroit Tigers pitches during the fourth inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on June 30, 2026 in New York City. The crown jewel of the 2026 MLB trade deadline is undoubtedly two-time Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal. The Tigers’ lefty has missed some time due to injury this season, but still boasts a remarkable 2.70 ERA on the season while striking out 11 batters per nine innings pitched.

In a sense, this has been Skubal’s best season. His strikeout-to-walk ratio is the highest it’s ever been at 8.46. His FIP (2.68) is still elite and below where his ERA currently stands. All that to say that every team in position to contend for a World Series this year should be dialing the Tigers’ number and trying to get their paws on Skubal.

(Jim McIsaac, Getty Images)

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