DETROIT – Like many successful starting pitchers, Tarik Skubal is a creature of habit. For 77 starts at Comerica Park as a Tiger, plus countless days in between, he’d walked down the tunnel leading into the ballpark’s service level and turned left to head into the Tigers’ clubhouse. On Friday, he made the same walk down the tunnel, but instead turned right for the visitors’ clubhouse. It had exactly the offsetting feeling you’d expect. “Yeah, I was talking about that,” Skubal said Saturday morning. “I was actually joking with [Tigers manager] A.J. [Hinch], ‘I hope one of the innings, I don’t walk the wrong way [into the other dugout], just out of nature. But yeah, when I walked into the clubhouse, I’d never been on that side. In six, seven years here, I’d never been on this side of the clubhouse. “When I first got here, I’m like, ‘Which way is the field?’ The tunnels and stuff, I had to get guided around. So it just felt like every other road clubhouse you go to for the first time. So this was 30 for 30 for me, I guess, on the road side. It was funny.”It’s not just another road city, of course. In many ways, it’s still home for Skubal, who’s just four weeks separated from the trade that sent him from the Tigers – the only organization he’d known as a pro – to the Dodgers. He’s still making the adjustments. Being in a hotel in Detroit for the weekend was just another of them. “I said it’d take me two weeks. I think it’s gonna take me more,” Skubal said. “But just getting to know everybody else, clubhouse attendants, everybody that takes care of you. I obviously know all my teammates’ names, but guys that come up and go back down, get optioned, whatever, the whole business of the game, and getting to know new faces every single day, and obviously just getting to know pitchers as well. “I think the position players do a very good job of getting to know me and getting to know what makes me tick out there and kind of keeping eyes on everything. It’s been a pretty smooth transition, but it’s obviously a little chaotic.” In some ways, facing his former team in the first game of the series might have been for the best. He was able to make his preparations before stepping foot in Comerica Park again. He got through his pregame warmups fine despite warming up in the opposite bullpen than he was used to. He threw a ball to his old pitching coach, Chris Fetter, for old times’ sake.
He was on his way to the visiting dugout to get ready for the first inning when the video tribute began on the giant video board over his shoulder. He thought it would be running while he was still in the bullpen, so he could focus on his throws and not worry about it. His timing was off. “I said I wasn’t going to be [emotional], but I’ve come to figure out I don’t really know myself that well,” Skubal said. “It did catch me by surprise, the timing did. I kinda figured it’d be around the anthem time, so the timing kind of threw me for a loop a little bit. But I think the emotions would’ve been the same regardless of the time. … “I did cry watching the video. There were definitely tears. Luckily enough, I was able to make it to the tunnel before more happened. But yeah, it’s tough. This is a place I’ve known my entire career since 2018. But yeah, it was special.”One by one, Tigers hitters stepped to the plate and gave a nod to Skubal, who gave a nod back. It wasn’t anything unusual compared to what he might do for an old friend, but there were just so many of them. After six innings of one-run ball, Skubal finally caught up with his old team after the Dodgers’ 2-1 win, going back onto the field to meet not only ex-teammates, but coaches, clubhouse crew and support staff. He wanted to say hello, but also thank you. “All those people go out of their way to help me on and off the field, so you want to just show some appreciation,” he said. He left another token of appreciation on Saturday, sending donuts over to the home clubhouse. He could’ve sent over coffee as a nod to the running gag that teammates gave him over taking his clubhouse espresso machine with him out west after the trade. “I guess I’ll wear it,” Skubal said with a laugh. “I told my wife I wanted to leave it and she said, ‘We’re not leaving that. It’s too expensive.’ So I just have it at my house now, which is nice. Very convenient for me now.”
It’s not just another road city, of course. In many ways, it’s still home for Skubal, who’s just four weeks separated from the trade that sent him from the Tigers – the only organization he’d known as a pro – to the Dodgers. He’s still making the adjustments. Being in a hotel in Detroit for the weekend was just another of them. “I said it’d take me two weeks. I think it’s gonna take me more,” Skubal said. “But just getting to know everybody else, clubhouse attendants, everybody that takes care of you. I obviously know all my teammates’ names, but guys that come up and go back down, get optioned, whatever, the whole business of the game, and getting to know new faces every single day, and obviously just getting to know pitchers as well. “I think the position players do a very good job of getting to know me and getting to know what makes me tick out there and kind of keeping eyes on everything. It’s been a pretty smooth transition, but it’s obviously a little chaotic.” In some ways, facing his former team in the first game of the series might have been for the best. He was able to make his preparations before stepping foot in Comerica Park again. He got through his pregame warmups fine despite warming up in the opposite bullpen than he was used to. He threw a ball to his old pitching coach, Chris Fetter, for old times’ sake.
He was on his way to the visiting dugout to get ready for the first inning when the video tribute began on the giant video board over his shoulder. He thought it would be running while he was still in the bullpen, so he could focus on his throws and not worry about it. His timing was off. “I said I wasn’t going to be [emotional], but I’ve come to figure out I don’t really know myself that well,” Skubal said. “It did catch me by surprise, the timing did. I kinda figured it’d be around the anthem time, so the timing kind of threw me for a loop a little bit. But I think the emotions would’ve been the same regardless of the time. … “I did cry watching the video. There were definitely tears. Luckily enough, I was able to make it to the tunnel before more happened. But yeah, it’s tough. This is a place I’ve known my entire career since 2018. But yeah, it was special.”
One by one, Tigers hitters stepped to the plate and gave a nod to Skubal, who gave a nod back. It wasn’t anything unusual compared to what he might do for an old friend, but there were just so many of them. After six innings of one-run ball, Skubal finally caught up with his old team after the Dodgers’ 2-1 win, going back onto the field to meet not only ex-teammates, but coaches, clubhouse crew and support staff. He wanted to say hello, but also thank you. “All those people go out of their way to help me on and off the field, so you want to just show some appreciation,” he said. He left another token of appreciation on Saturday, sending donuts over to the home clubhouse. He could’ve sent over coffee as a nod to the running gag that teammates gave him over taking his clubhouse espresso machine with him out west after the trade. “I guess I’ll wear it,” Skubal said with a laugh. “I told my wife I wanted to leave it and she said, ‘We’re not leaving that. It’s too expensive.’ So I just have it at my house now, which is nice. Very convenient for me now.”