Tarik Skubal Opens Up About Tigers Revenge Game, Reveals His 'True Crime Ritual' After Dodgers Trade

Less than one month after being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers by the Detroit Tigers, Tarik Skubal will make his first start against his former team at Comerica Park on Friday night.

Speaking to The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya about his first appearance in Detroit as a visiting player, Skubal cited the "challenge" of trying to keep his emotions in check.

"It's playing baseball in a place that's obviously special to me, right?" Skubal said . "I spent eight years there. But I'm just trying to play baseball. That's gonna be the challenge, just to keep the game the game."

One thing Ardaya noted that helps Skubal maintain some semblance of normalcy, particularly throughout this season as he found himself the subject of trade rumors for months, is a "true crime ritual" that he regularly watches and recently included a Charles Manson documentary on Netflix.

"That was wild," Skubal said of that particular doc.

The left-hander revealed the routine of his day, which includes true-crime docs, is essential to him being able to maintain focus throughout the grind of an MLB season.

"If I let my focus shift from that and I start worrying about what's happening three months from now or what has already happened, it just is a distraction," Skubal said. "That's all it is. So I don't really ever think like that. It does me no good to be in that headspace."

Skubal was part of the Tigers organization from 2018 to '26. He went from a ninth-round draft pick out of Seattle University to becoming a two-time AL Cy Young winner in his last two full seasons in Detroit.

"I'm sure there will be some emotion, obviously," Skubal told Ardaya about how he expects to feel on Friday night. "But at the same time, the game of baseball is normal for me. That's my normal, is playing baseball."

The Tigers made the playoffs in each of the past two years, with their 2024 wild-card berth ending their 10-year playoff drought.

There have been some bumps along the way for Skubal early in his Dodgers tenure, but nothing that should have anyone concerned about his ability to be a dominant pitcher when the postseason starts.

Through his first four starts with Los Angeles, Skubal has a 3.38 ERA with 30 strikeouts over 24.0 innings. He has allowed at least two earned runs in three of those outings.

The Tigers are one of four teams Skubal has never gone up against in his MLB career. He will cross them off the list on Friday at 6:40 p.m. ET.

Friday will mark Skubal's first road start since Aug. 4 when he made his Dodgers debut against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. The 29-year-old has a 2.67 ERA over 445.2 innings in 77 career starts at Comerica Park.