Tarik Skubal's Dodgers debut draws highest MLB rating on TNT networks in nearly 2 decades

Baseball fans may hate the Los Angeles Dodgers after the team added to its already embarrassment of talent at the trade deadline, but those fans seemingly can't help themselves from tuning in when the Dodgers are playing in a nationally-televised game.

Tarik Skubal's Dodgers debut drew the highest MLB regular-season game rating on a TNT Sports network since 2007, according to Sports Media Watch. The game averaged just under a million — 923,000 — viewers, across TBS, truTV and HBO Max, all of which are TNT Sports networks, per SMW. At its peak, the game reached 1.1 million viewers.

Those ratings come with a small caveat. They do not include one-game playoffs, which were technically classified as regular-season games by MLB. The Detroit Tigers vs. Minnesota Twins one-game playoff in 2009 drew 6.5 million viewers on TBS, per SMW.

Skubal delivered a fine start, allowing two runs over six innings, but it wasn't enough to win. The Dodgers' offense went cold against the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday, with Chicago picking up a 5-1 win to spoil Skubal's debut.

Los Angeles' trade for Skubal sent shockwaves throughout the game. Despite the Dodgers coming off consecutive World Series titles, the team still had the resources to acquire Skubal — arguably the best pitcher in baseball — at the deadline. The move caused outrage from fans across social media, though many within the game took no issue with it.

With Skubal, the Dodgers now boast one of the greatest rotations in the game — at least, when everyone is healthy. The Dodgers now have two starters who have won two Cy Young awards, the 2025 World Series MVP, Tyler Glasnow and Shohei Ohtani in their rotation. That's a tough group to beat in a short playoff series.

Turns out, that's also an appealing collection of talent for fans. Whether those fans tuned in to hate-watch a loss or were experiencing FOMO after seeing a major-league team actually try to win a championship, the Dodgers ultimately won out in the end.

They know they have the attention of the sport, and the television numbers prove as much.