The Dodgers may still have not seen Tarik Skubal at his absolute best, but the left-hander has inched closer to that version of himself every time he takes the mound. Skubal turned in a strong performance, holding the Reds to two earned runs across 7 1/3 innings in a 3-2 Dodgers win on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium. He struck out five, walked two and gave up four hits in his longest start since being traded to the Dodgers last month. "I think that's ultimately the job of a starting pitcher," Skubal said. "One, to give your team a chance to win every time you're out there, and two, to eat as many innings as you can." The Dodgers have won each of Skubal's past four starts and, with the victory Tuesday, recorded a season-high-tying sixth consecutive win. In seven starts with L.A., he has recorded a 2.95 ERA (14 earned runs in 43 innings) and struck out 48 against 10 walks. "We haven't seen his best, and he's still really performing," manager Dave Roberts said before the game. Skubal expressed a similar opinion of his body of work with the Dodgers. He has generally felt good about the quality of his stuff and the way he's been able to execute on the mound, but he has bemoaned not consistently being able to pitch deeper into games. He has not been as efficient as he would like to be over the past month-plus, which has been holding him back. "I don't think I've thrown the ball as well as I know I'm capable of yet," Skubal said.
