{"id":828135,"date":"2026-08-28T01:06:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T01:06:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/828135\/"},"modified":"2026-08-28T01:06:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T01:06:09","slug":"dodgers-tarik-skubal-expects-detroit-homecoming-against-former-teammates-will-test-his-emotions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/828135\/","title":{"rendered":"Dodgers&#8217; Tarik Skubal expects Detroit homecoming against former teammates will test his emotions"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">ATLANTA \u2013 Tarik Skubal knows he will feel emotions when he makes his return to Detroit on Friday night to pitch against the Tigers only four weeks after he was <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/dodgers-tigers-skubal-f342bec23348de07cfa4b08515e7d0ec?utm_source=copy&amp;utm_medium=share\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Skubal says he hopes to focus on representing the Dodgers instead of dwelling on his memories with the Tigers at Comerica Park. He acknowledged it may not be easy to keep his emotions in check.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">\u201cWe&#8217;ll see, right?\u201d Skubal told SI.com on Wednesday. \u201cThe whole process was emotional. I have a lot of respect for those guys over there. I&#8217;m just going to go play baseball.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Overall this season, Skubal is 8-7 with a 2.91 ERA. In four starts for the Dodgers since the Aug. 1 trade, Skubal is 1-2 with a 3.38 ERA. He is coming off his first win for the Dodgers. The left-hander had 11 strikeouts in seven innings in a <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/pirates-dodgers-score-ba36625a94aec716cbc06fbab348d106?utm_source=copy&amp;utm_medium=share\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">4-3 win<\/a> over Pittsburgh in Los Angeles on Saturday night.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Skubal, 29, made his major league debut with Detroit in 2020 and had played for no other team before the trade. The deal sent the two-time defending AL Cy Young winner to the two-time defending World Series champions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he believes Skubal has the right temperament to handle the emotions which will come with his Detroit homecoming.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">\u201cI think, you know, that whole \u2018be where your feet are\u2019 adage, I think that\u2019s just who he is,\u201d Roberts said Wednesday. \u201cSome people have a hard time letting go, but I think that Tarik is a guy that, wherever he\u2019s at, he\u2019s all in.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Roberts said he expects Skubal \u201cis going to try to engage guys and immerse himself with coaches, with his teammates, the best he can. That\u2019s a good trait. Like I said, I\u2019ve only known him a short time, but I\u2019m really, really fortunate we got him on our club. Not even just for the pitching, just beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Skubal said he is \u201csure it will be emotional there just because of the history.\u201d The emotions will be fresh because he has had less than one month to adjust to his new Los Angeles home before making his return to Detroit.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">\u201cBut at the end of the day, I\u2019ve got to go play baseball,&#8221; Skubal said. \u201cI\u2019ve got to compete and do what I do well, what makes me a good pitcher. I\u2019ll probably handle the emotions after.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">The Tigers are expected to have right-hander Drew Anderson (4-5, 4.09 ERA) face Skubal in the opener of the three-game series.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">___<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">AP Sports Writer Maura Carey contributed to this report.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">___<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">\n<a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/mlb\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">See AP\u2019s full MLB coverage here<\/a>\n<\/p>\n<p>Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ATLANTA \u2013 Tarik Skubal knows he will feel emotions when he makes his return to Detroit on Friday&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":828136,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[4284,170333,363,99,4706],"class_list":["post-828135","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-dave-roberts","tag-drew-anderson","tag-mlb","tag-sports","tag-tarik-skubal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/828135","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=828135"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/828135\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/828136"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=828135"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=828135"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=828135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}