DETROIT — For Tarik Skubal, the return to Comerica Park was always going to be about more than baseball.
It was his first start in Detroit since the Dodgers acquired him as the biggest pitcher available at the trade deadline a few weeks ago. It was his first time taking the mound against the organization that drafted him, developed him and turned him into one of the game's premier starting pitchers.
Dave Roberts warned before the game that the night could be emotional for Skubal.
Once the first pitch was thrown, though, Skubal looked like himself.
Tarik is rolling! 😮💨 #Dodgers
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The left-hander delivered a terrific outing against his former team, allowing one run on four hits over six innings while striking out seven and walking none. The Dodgers eventually gave him just enough support, rallying late to beat the Tigers, 2-1, on Friday night at Comerica Park and snap a three-game losing streak.
The Dodgers improved to 81-54 on the season.
Skubal's night didn't begin particularly smoothly.
He surrendered a leadoff double to his first batter, putting a runner in scoring position immediately. From there, however, he settled into a rhythm, retiring nine consecutive hitters. Six of those outs came via strikeout, including all three batters he faced in the third inning.
The only significant damage came in the fifth.
After the Dodgers had generated nine baserunners through the first five innings without scoring, their missed opportunities finally came back to haunt them. Max Clark lined a two-out RBI triple the other way down the third-base line, giving Detroit a 1-0 lead.
It was the kind of night Skubal has become accustomed to since joining the Dodgers: dominant pitching, little margin for error and an offense struggling to capitalize.
But the Dodgers finally broke through in the sixth.
Miggy delivers! pic.twitter.com/VlhN4KrBdP
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 29, 2026
Roberts turned to Miguel Rojas as a pinch-hitter against the Tigers' left-handed pitching, an aggressive move that immediately paid off. Rojas lined an RBI single on the first pitch, snapping a Dodgers scoring drought that had reached 16 innings and tying the game at one.
That was all the Dodgers could manage in the inning.
Shohei Ohtani struck out to end the threat, stranding two more runners.
Still, the Dodgers had tied the game, and Skubal had done his part.
After six innings and only 83 pitches, his night was over.
Six innings. Four hits. One run. No walks. Seven strikeouts.
It was an impressive performance under circumstances that made it anything but an ordinary start.
Skubal's five starts with the Dodgers have all been tight games when he has departed. The run differential had been one in four of them, and Friday was no different: He left with the score tied, 1-1.
The Dodgers' bullpen then took over and kept the game there.
Three scoreless innings later, the Dodgers had its chance to take the lead.
And this time, the Dodgers didn't need a big swing.
They manufactured it.
Teoscar Hernández opened the eighth with a jam-shot single. Ben Rortvedt followed with a two-strike sacrifice bunt, moving Hernández into scoring position.
Then came Freddie Freeman.
Freeman for the lead! #dodgerspic.twitter.com/TzfpohiVcM
— The Sporting Tribune (@SportingTrib) August 29, 2026
Freeman lined an RBI single to give the Dodgers their first lead of the night, 2-1.
It was exactly the kind of timely production the Dodgers had been missing for much of the evening. All nine of the Dodgers' hits were singles, but Freeman's was the one that mattered most.
The Dodgers would make that one-run lead stand.
Tanner Scott closed out the ninth for his 20th save of the season, completing the bullpen's three scoreless innings and preserving the victory.
For much of the night, the story was Skubal.
The former Tiger walked onto the mound in a familiar ballpark wearing unfamiliar colors, facing the hitters and organization that had been his baseball home for years. The reception, the memories and the circumstances all had the ingredients for an emotional return.
Instead, Skubal gave the Dodgers exactly what they acquired him to provide.
Six innings of one-run baseball.
The Dodgers, meanwhile, found just enough offense to make it count.
Six of their last seven games have now been decided by one run, with the Dodgers going 3-3 in those six one-run contests. Friday's game was another reminder that, at this point in the season, there isn't much separating a win from a loss.
The Dodgers couldn't afford another one.
They had lost three straight coming into Detroit. Their offense had been quiet. Their new ace was making his emotional return to his old home.
And when the night was over, Skubal had delivered the performance.
Freeman had delivered the biggest hit. Scott had delivered the final outs. The Dodgers had delivered a win.
The Dodgers will turn to Blake Snell on Saturday afternoon as it looks to take the series from Detroit.