Dave Roberts Turns to Tarik Skubal to Save Dodgers From Spiraling

The Los Angeles Dodgers have endured another painful loss against a top National League opponent, the Atlanta Braves. In their season finale, Los Angeles struggled mightily, with Chris Sale pitching a complete-game shutout against them, allowing only five hits over 108 pitches and striking out 11 batters. Manager Dave Roberts maintains that his team can compete against any team, but the offense has been lackluster, with a .701 OPS (18th in MLB) and a .246 batting average (14th in MLB) over the past 30 days.

The Dodgers have faltered in recent games against strong competition, winning only two of their last 15 matches against opponents with a winning record. Their offense hasn't been able to sustain production, the bullpen has been inconsistent, and the defense hasn't been playing at its elite level. Manager Dave Roberts, however, remains optimistic and believes that pitcher Tarik Skubal could be the spark the Dodgers need to turn things around.

"Now, we got the Tigers, who were kind of their last kind of fight to the end," Roberts said. "And you got a team that we don't know very well. But I expect us to come out and follow Tarek’s fire, which you will have tomorrow night, and feed off of that."