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Dodgers Roundup: Tarik Skubal Disagrees With Dave Roberts' Decision, Shohei Ohtani Pitching Update, More

Catch up on all the latest Dodgers news and notes.
Gabe Smallson|
Aug 28, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) watches from the dugout against the Detroit Tigers in the fifth inning at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images
Aug 28, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) watches from the dugout against the Detroit Tigers in the fifth inning at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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Los Angeles Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Detroit Tigers, 2-1, on Friday and improved to 81-54 on the year.

Tarik Skubal pitched in his first game at Comerica Park in a non-Tigers uniform, and though there were apparent emotions from the southpaw, it didn't stop him from fanning seven and allowing one earned run across six solid innings.

Evan Phillips was credited with the win (his second of the season) as he struck out the side in the seventh on just 10 pitches. Tanner Scott earned save No. 20 of the year and got the Dodgers back in the win column after a three-game skid.

Offensively, Miguel Rojas tied things up with an RBI single in the sixth and Freddie Freeman hit the game-deciding RBI single in the eighth (one of his two hits on the night).

As for Skubal, he pitched a quality start, but was taken out after just 83 pitches. He understood manager Dave Roberts' decision to end his night early, but didn't exactly agree.

“Of course, I did want to go back out there. Those decisions aren’t my decisions,” Skubal said. “Doc kind of came to me and said we’ve got a long road. He said he’s kind of pushed me recently. I don’t know if ‘Play it safe’ is the right word, because obviously I feel good to go. But we got a little bit more before we start pushing again. So that’s kind of the conversation that I had.

"But I felt good to go. I felt like I was still in control of the baseball game at the time.”

As for Roberts' reasoning?

“Sort of predetermined [that] trying to shorten him was the idea for me,” Roberts said after Skubal threw 109 and 106 pitches in his last two outings.

“He wanted to stay in, and I love that, I respect that,” he added. “He felt he had some more in there, but I had my thoughts.”

In other news, superstar Shohei Ohtani has a promising update regarding his return to pitching according to manager Dave Roberts. An impending start for the four-time MVP seems likely, but Roberts detailed a potential route for Ohtani to not pitch on Sunday if the team doesn't feel he's ready.

"I think the good thing about that is it’s not a hiding-the-ball situation," Roberts said. "We have the starter we need in Tyler [Glasnow] and if we don’t and Shohei can throw an inning then we’ll do that.”

Ohtani has been out (from pitching) since early-July, but when he is on the mound, he has shown why he is a clear MVP favorite. He attained a 1.79 ERA through 14 starts before he headed for a midseason break.

In addition to a walk percentage of just 13.4% (putting him in the 92nd percentile across MLB), Ohtani also generates an average exit velocity of just 93.5 mph off the bat, good for the 98th percentile in baseball.

Finally, two former Dodgers joined the Atlanta Braves and Arizona Diamondbacks organizations. The two had their playing time shrink and were ultimately designated for assignment before finding new homes with teams LA could face in the postseason.

Here’s all the latest Dodgers news and stories (click the headline for the full article):

2 Dodgers Castoffs Latch On With National League Rivals

Dodgers' Tarik Skubal Gets Message From Tigers Players Ahead of Detroit Return

Dodgers Announce Starting Pitchers for Series vs Tigers, Including Tarik Skubal Return

Dodgers Announce Starting Lineup for Tarik Skubal's Return to Detroit vs Tigers

Dodgers Tweets of the Day

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Gabe Smallson
GABE SMALLSON

Gabe Smallson is a sportswriter based in Los Angeles with a focus in sports and entertainment content. Gabe has previously worked at Newsweek and Dodgers Nation. He graduated from San Francisco State University in 2020 and received his Masters of Science at the University of Southern California in 2025.

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