Michigan Sports

Skubal emotional in return to Detroit

DETROIT -- Tarik Skubal shed some tears, walking on a field that used to be his home turf as the team that traded him away paid tribute to the two-time Cy Young Award winner with a video montage before the first pitch.

“Luckily enough, I was able to make it to the tunnel before more happened,” Skubal said after allowing one run over six innings to help the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Detroit Tigers 2-1 on Friday night. “It’s tough. This is the place I’ve known my entire career since 2018.

“It’s special.”

Skubal was welcomed with cheers and a smattering of boos in his return to Detroit, pitching for the first time against the middling franchise that traded him to the two-time defending World Series champions.

When the visitors’ lineup and Skubal were shown on the videoboard and his name was announced before the first pitch, most of the crowd at Comerica Park clapped for him while some jeered.

The Tigers showed highlights from his seven-season career with the team and posted a message at the end: Thank you, Tarik.

Skubal turned his head to the right a few times to watch the video as he walked from the bullpen beyond the left-field wall and toward the Dodgers’ dugout with a white towel draped around his neck, which he used to wipe away sweat and tears.

He extended his right arm, holding his glove, toward his former teammates and used his left hand to pat his chest.

After the game, Skubal returned to the field to catch up with some of his former teammates.

Skubal did not appear to react to, or acknowledge, the fans before or during the game and didn’t get a chance to do so as he exited the game because a pitching change was made after the sixth inning in a 1-1 game. He struck out seven over six innings with 83 pitches, the fewest since he threw 74 in the season-opening game in March.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the plan was to limit Skubal’s pitches after he threw 106 and 109 in his previous two starts.

In a crowd that had mixed emotions about Skubal’s return, a couple young fans had fitting outfits sporting white Tigers jerseys with 29 and Skubal on the back -- and a blue Dodgers hat.