Overview
- The Dodgers debuted Tarik Skubal on Tuesday at Wrigley Field after acquiring him in a late‑July trade, and he pitched six innings, allowed two runs on four hits, struck out six and threw 85 pitches.
- Despite Skubal’s strong outing, the Cubs won 5-1 thanks to timely hitting from Dansby Swanson and later homers by Nico Hoerner that chased the Dodgers’ bullpen.
- Skubal faced heavy hostility from the crowd — repeated boos, an anti‑Dodgers plane banner over the ballpark and intense social‑media trolling after Swanson’s homer.
- The loss extended Los Angeles’s season‑worst five‑game skid as the offense produced one run and the relief corps yielded three late runs.
- Manager Dave Roberts said he will manage Skubal’s workload carefully because of recent elbow surgery and multiple injuries in the Dodgers’ rotation, a move that underscores how the trade shifts October planning and fuels debate about roster concentration in baseball.