Tigers Fans Can Only Watch as Skubal Pitches in NLCS

Game 1 of what could be one of the most anticipated NLCS matchups in recent baseball history got underway Sunday night, featuring a pitchers’ duel between two of baseball’s best arms.

For the Milwaukee Brewers, it was Jacob Misiorowski taking the mound. On the other side stood a familiar face to Detroit Tigers fans: Tarik Skubal.

Skubal won the past two American League Cy Young Awards and helped lead Detroit to the postseason in both seasons. However, the Tigers fell short of reaching the ALCS during either playoff run. Now, Skubal is getting his first taste of Championship Series baseball with a new team, the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are no strangers to the NLCS.

Detroit traded Skubal to Los Angeles at the MLB trade deadline a couple of months ago, receiving three promising prospects in return. The Tigers will hope one or more of those young players can become long-term contributors as the organization continues building for the future.

Meanwhile, the Dodgers acquired Skubal as a rental for their push toward a third consecutive World Series title, adding one of the game's most dominant pitchers for the final stretch of the season.

Skubal took the ball for Game 1 and pitched like the two-time Cy Young winner Tigers fans have come to know.

The left-hander struck out seven batters across five innings, allowing five hits and two earned runs. He threw 81 pitches, landing 53 for strikes, as he worked through the nerves of his first career Championship Series start.

After a solo home run by Brice Turang tied the game in the bottom of the first inning, Skubal settled in and kept the Brewers in check until the fifth. With the Dodgers unable to provide enough run support, every pitch carried a little more weight.

In the fifth, Luis Lara singled to center field, scoring Garrett Mitchell and putting Milwaukee in front. The run proved decisive, as Skubal ultimately took the loss in the Dodgers' Game 1 defeat.

The Brewers pulled Misiorowski after 4.1 innings, but the Dodgers stuck with Skubal long enough to get through five. That decision could become a talking point, especially for Tigers fans who grew accustomed to questioning why Detroit sometimes pulled its ace early.

On Sunday night, however, the question was whether the Dodgers left their star pitcher in for too long. Skubal surrendered the go-ahead run in the fifth, and Los Angeles couldn't mount the comeback it needed. Whether an earlier exit would have changed the outcome is a question that will remain in the realm of what-ifs.

For Detroit fans, watching Skubal pitch on baseball's biggest stage is a complicated experience.

Some will argue that trading him was the right move given the financial realities of keeping a superstar pitcher who could command a massive contract. Others will question the economics of a sport in which elite players can approach half a billion dollars in earnings. And plenty will simply wonder what might have happened if the Tigers were still playing meaningful October baseball alongside their former ace.

Instead, Detroit is watching from home while Skubal continues his postseason journey in Los Angeles. The Tigers made their decision, and Skubal has a chance to help the Dodgers chase another championship. For now, though, even a dominant arm like his couldn't deliver a Game 1 win, leaving Tigers fans to wonder what might have been.