Tarik Skubal overcame a rough first inning to earn his first win with the Los Angeles Dodgers, striking out 11 batters in a 4-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday night. The two-time Cy Young Award winner allowed three runs on three consecutive hits in the opening frame but settled down to retire 20 of his final 23 batters over seven innings. Skubal (8-7), acquired from the Detroit Tigers in a blockbuster trade earlier this month, had been 0-2 with a 3.18 ERA in his first three Dodgers starts.

"That's the guy that we needed. Completing seven innings, reset the bullpen, great outing," manager Dave Roberts said. Skubal maintained his velocity late, reaching 99 mph and topping 100 mph on his final strikeouts. "When I feel confident commanding the ball, that's when I feel like I can really start letting it rip," he said.

Skubal has been learning from rotation mates Blake Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto and watched Shohei Ohtani throw a live bullpen session before the game. "We got a ton of really good arms here... when we're executing, we're the best team in the league," Skubal added.