Dodgers' Tarik Skubal set for emotional return to Detroit

The Detroit Tigers know they're in for a surreal experience on Friday. They'll be facing their former ace less than a month after he was dealt to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Tarik Skubal won two American League Cy Young Awards while leading Detroit to back-to-back playoff appearances. The left-hander will now take the mound at Comerica Park and look to add to the reeling Tigers' misery.

"It's going to be weird," infielder Colt Keith told the Detroit News. "It seems like the deadline was here just yesterday. I probably won't be in the lineup. I haven't played against a lefty since like 2024. But I think it's going to be a pretty competitive game. A lot of guys are going to want to put up good at-bats against him and get some hits."

Skubal, who will be a free agent after the season, was dealt to the Dodgers for three prospects. The Tigers squandered a seven-run lead against Baltimore in Skubal's last start for them on July 29, which helped to convince the front office to trade him rather than risk losing him after the season for only a compensatory draft pick.

"It's going to be pretty emotional all over again, but that's part of it," Detroit manager A.J. Hinch said. "We have to do a good job of separating the bond with the human and the competitor. When the game starts, things will normalize and we will have a real challenge to face someone of his talent. When he was traded, I was rooting for this to be pushed into the future, but that challenge is right in front of us. We can have a ton of respect for him and his time here but also make it a bad Friday for him."

The Tigers haven't done that often lately. They have lost seven of their last eight games and were limited to two hits in a 3-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday.

Following a shaky first inning, Skubal (8-7, 2.91 ERA) arguably had his best outing since the trade on Saturday. Skubal struck out 11 Pittsburgh batters in seven innings while notching his first win in a Dodgers uniform.

The Dodgers know Skubal might ride an emotional roller coaster on Friday.

"I think it'll be a lot of gratitude -- a lot of people that are cheering him on," Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts said. "Obviously this is something that was not his doing. He did a lot of good things for the city of Detroit. And his best friends are still on that ball club, self-admitted. So, I hope they do the festivities the night after we win on Friday, so the emotion doesn't get to him, and he can just kind of enjoy the welcome back."

He'll be opposed by right-hander Drew Anderson, who was thrust into the Detroit rotation after the trade. Anderson (4-5, 4.09 ERA) has given up three runs in five innings in each of his last two starts, most recently at Kansas City on Saturday.

Anderson pitched an inning of scoreless relief in his lone career appearance against Los Angeles in 2018.

The Dodgers will be looking to snap a three-game losing streak after getting swept by Atlanta.

--Field Level Media