NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: DODGERS VS BREWERS

October 10, 2026

Tarik Skubal

American Family Field

Los Angeles Dodgers

Workout Day Press Conference

Q. I was told there's a beer specifically here called a Spotted Cow. Have you had that?

TARIK SKUBAL: Yeah, yeah.

Q. Is it good?

TARIK SKUBAL: It's good.

Q. In a more serious matter, obviously with this team, they're known for bat to ball skills, being aggressive on the base path. What is the biggest challenge you have found as you're preparing to navigate through this lineup?

TARIK SKUBAL: First off, it's a very talented roster. I think they do a lot of things really well. They pitch. They play defense. They run the bases. They hit, hit with runners in scoring position. Control the zone really well. Walk percentage is up there at the top of the Big Leagues, I think, 1 through 9. And they don't strike out a lot. That's a challenge in itself.

It's a really good baseball team. They play the game the right way. I've got a lot of respect for the guys over there. And obviously the manager, Murph, I'm a big fan of his.

At the same time, you've got to match it when you're on the mound, do everything you can to get ahead and understand they're not going to chase. Sometimes you've got to beat them in the zone. Yeah, I think it's going to be a fun matchup.

Q. Max was kind of in here talking about how refreshing it is to have a starter who's able to talk on his start day, able to be open and normal on his start day. Have you always kind of been like that? Have you ever gone through a phase where you tried to be the hard-o who didn't speak on a start day?

TARIK SKUBAL: I don't know if I would use the word hard-o, but early in my career you come up and you see all the older guys and the way they go about things, and almost always they all have headphones in and they kind of don't really talk to anybody and everybody stays out of their way. So you're just naturally like, okay, that's what Big Leaguers do. That's what I'm going to do.

I did that pretty early in my career. I just found it to be exhausting. I don't think that's who I am. It's kind of putting on a facade -- is that the right word? Nice word. (Laughter.)

You're just not yourself. I didn't feel like myself when I was doing that, putting headphones in and trying to be focused. I found myself mentally exhausted in the second or third innings of games. And I'm like why am I tired today? I should be ready to go.

When I got hurt in '22, I decided enough is enough. I'm caring way too much about all the little things that don't really matter, don't really impact the game of baseball. I don't know if it's like superstitious, but like making sure the music is the right setting, making sure the music is the right songs at the right time, and you're just caring about all the wrong things, I think.

For me it was mentally freeing to take my headphones off and just be who I am and interact with guys. As it gets closer to game time, you get ready to go and you're going to go out there and compete. But I just didn't really find much of a benefit of trying to be locked in four hours before a game. I want to be myself. Then I'll lock in as the game gets closer.

Q. Obviously with this matchup and you started Game 1, you didn't have any control over where you're going at the deadline, but people obviously saw this place and Dodgers as the two places most likely to land you. How much, if at all, have you thought about how different things would be if you had maybe landed in Milwaukee instead?

TARIK SKUBAL: I haven't really thought about it at all to be honest.

Q. It's been two months since you became a Dodger, but the way you've been able to blend in with this clubhouse and be yourself, like you pointed out too, how much of that was impacted by your teammates, and what did they do to really make you feel welcome here so you could be yourself?

TARIK SKUBAL: I think they just have a culture of where they want guys to just be who you are. Just be your authentic self, and they're going to appreciate you for whatever that is. Every guy is different. We're all humans at the end of the day, and we all tick different.

I think they just wanted me to be me, and that was kind of the message early on. It takes a little bit of time to get to know and get on the same page as everybody and understand kind of how they tick and how they want to operate and how they work. I think that that's something that I also value is how to get everybody else kind of going and beating and marching in one direction the same way.

Yeah, just understanding how to communicate. That stuff just takes time. I think the clubhouse is great, obviously a veteran group. At the same time, very open arm, welcoming to who I am. I think that we both have the same goal in mind, and that's to win a World Series. That starts with Game 1 tomorrow.

Q. Sorry to bring it back to the trade deadline, but I know you've just thought so much about the league and how it functions and there's kind of a narrative or discussion that maybe the Dodgers were a foregone conclusion because of the market size. What did you think about that discussion?

TARIK SKUBAL: I said something earlier when I was -- like the first day I was a Dodger. I think it was -- I don't think it was received very well, so I'm probably not going to comment on it. You want to know the state of baseball and where we're at as a sport, I think it's a very positive thing.

Just go look at attendance rating. Go look at viewership from TV games all that kind of stuff. I think that kind of tells you -- fan interactions. I think that kind of tells you that baseball itself is in a very healthy spot. I'm proud to be a part of it.

Q. During the postseason when you have a little more rest than usual, do you notice your change-up behaving a little differently when you've got almost a week off and you go into a big start like this?

TARIK SKUBAL: In my last start?

Q. The feel of it, does it feel different to you when you have a little more rest at this time of year?

TARIK SKUBAL: No, but was it? That's been interesting. I didn't really look. I think I performed really well in my last start, so I didn't really look into it. I think there was a little bit less horizontal, but that kind of is impacted by weather and wind and just like the elements of being outside. So I don't really put too much merit in it unless it's like way different.

I think execution and stuff in my last start was really good. You just find yourself -- when you have more time off, you just find yourself throwing a little bit more bullpen sessions to kind of keep the stimulus going. But at this point in the year, it's almost like less is more. The less time you're off the mound, and any extra day matters.

Q. For someone who loves studying pitching and studying the game, when you look at Misiorowski, the physics of how he throws, what impresses you the most?

TARIK SKUBAL: Yeah, he's very impressive. His ability to command pitches at that velocity consistently, consistently gets ahead. I think what stands out with him is obviously the velocity is what it is, and the stuff and the shapes are what they are, but I think his walk percentage and walk per nine is about as impressive as what he does. He doesn't walk anybody. He forces teams to beat him. He doesn't really beat himself too many times when he's out there.

I think that's the mark of a really good starting pitcher is a guy that's not going to beat themselves, going to force lineups to beat you. He does all those things. So it's -- as a fan of the game, I'm a fan as much as I'm a player, it's fun to watch him pitch.

Now tomorrow is probably going to be a different story, but yeah, what he does is very impressive.

Q. When you look at this matchup for you and the round and also just the pressure that this team has on trying to three-peat, inside your head as a competitor, how would you describe yourself right now as you're getting ready for Game 1?

TARIK SKUBAL: I think the pressure around -- surrounding the Dodgers, it's all a privilege. I think as an athlete this is what you want to be and you want to have expectation to win. I have those same expectations as a player, and in my shoes, I think just keeping the game the game, going out there and competing, and doing what I can to put my team in a position to win is important.

To simplify in bigger moments. Simplify, be who you are, and leave it all out on the field. You can live with whatever result happens as long as you know you gave it everything you had out there, and that's kind of what I ask of myself every time out.

Q. There were a couple times during the course of the season where Dave kind of saved some bullets, quote/unquote, including in Detroit. Did you kind of feel that that made a positive effect for your long term?

TARIK SKUBAL: Saved bullets, like took me out of games and stuff?

Q. Yes.

TARIK SKUBAL: I don't know. I don't really ever know -- obviously I never want to come out of a game. So when he comes and shakes my hand, it's like you're a little disappointed, but you understand.

As far as feeling fresh and feeling good, I feel good right now. I feel fresh. I feel healthy. That's all you can ask for at this time of the year. The body feels good. I feel like the ball is coming out really well and able to execute pitches.

Yeah, I don't really have much of a comment on that, to be honest.

Q. Now that we're in the postseason, if you're pitching well, it's deep in the game, how hard is it to take the ball out of your hands?

TARIK SKUBAL: It's just as hard as any game. I don't really like ever coming out of the game early or any of that stuff. You trust the manager, trust the plan that they have, trust the guys in the bullpen. The bullpen that we have here is also very talented and can create a lot of negative matchups and give us an advantage later in games. So you've got to trust a lot of that stuff and also trust kind of where the game is, the situation and stuff like that.

Yeah, I'm excited to go.

Q. You mentioned earlier the Brewers don't chase, lowest chase rate by a team in the sport. Does that impact --

TARIK SKUBAL: Is that? They are the lowest?

Q. Lowest in the sport. Does knowing that when you're facing a lineup that doesn't chase, does that impact your preparation before a start in terms of like your bullpen work between starts or your pregame bullpen work? Will you focus on more pitches depending on the lineup quality that you're facing?

TARIK SKUBAL: I'm not going to answer that but --

Q. Generally speaking?

TARIK SKUBAL: Sure.

(Laughter.)