‘Aggressive’ Brewers have touched base on Skubal

Jac Caglianone singled and homered to drive in all three runs. Skubal finished up with six strikeouts, four of which came on his fastball. He averaged 97.4 mph with that offering, his third highest mark of the season. He also came in at 97.3 mph last time out, so it looks like his stuff might be peaking at a good time for the Dodgers. He’ll likely face the Brewers on Sunday.

Miller walked William Contreras with two outs, throwing his final pitch of the at-bat to the backstop, but instead of seeing if he might remain wild, the Brewers had pinch-runner Brandon Lockridge try to take second and saw him caught stealing to end the game. Miller reached 30 saves for the first time in his career. He had 28 in 55 appearances as a rookie two years ago and 22 last year after becoming a setup man for Robert Suarez with the trade to the Padres.

Miller hit Christian Walker to start the ninth inning. A wild pitch moved him into scoring position and Yainer Diaz drove him in to bring the Astros within a run with two outs. Then Miller got Lamonte Wade Jr. to ground out to end the game. It was his 29th save of the season. Miller’s ERA jumped up to 0.91, showing just how dominant he’s been overall this season.

That means Tarik Skubal will be pushed back a day to make his home debut on Monday with Justin Wrobleski going in Sunday’s series finale against the Diamondbacks in Arizona. Snell has been shelved since undergoing the NanoScope procedure to remove loose bodies from his elbow back in May. He could wind up being a major difference maker for fantasy managers down the stretch.

Skubal allowed four hits, struck out six and walked two in his first start since the blockbuster trade sent him from the Tigers to the Dodgers. He gave up a solo homer to Dansby Swanson in the third, and then an infield single from Nico Hoerner gave the Cubs a 2-1 lead in the sixth. His velocity was up over half a mile on both his four-seam fastball and sinker, and it’s feasible Skubal was just a little too amped with some command struggles at times. Still, a solid start for Skubal, and more often than not, this is gonna get it done behind the Dodgers’ lineup. He gets the Royals on Tuesday.

Skubal will make his debut with Los Angeles against one of the teams that will be competing with the Dodgers for the National League pennant. Fantasy managers were going to have the 29-year-old ace in their lineup, anyway, but it’s nice that they won’t have to wait too long to see him back on the bump.

The blockbuster deal which was reported late Saturday evening is now official. The two-time reigning American League Cy Young award winner joins an already star-studded Dodgers’ rotation as they look to make history by winning their third consecutive World Series title. It remains to be seen whether the Dodgers will be able to lock up the impending free agent long-term, but it would now be a catastrophic failure on their end if they don’t wind up winning another title. Skubal’s already sky-high fantasy value improves with the move to Los Angeles as he’s much more likely to rack up victories than he had been with the Tigers’ faulty bullpen working behind him.

Miller apparently was hurt after entering the game in the eighth, but he was still throwing smoke in the ninth. It doesn’t look like it’ll turn into any sort of significant issue.

Miller came in to procure a four-out save, but he gave up an RBI double to Osleivis Basabe to tie the game at 5-5. It wasn’t his run so his ERA isn’t affected, but it is the first time that Miller has blown a save in 2026. He was excellent in the top of the ninth, however, and a walk-off single from Jake Cronenworth gives Miller a victory to help make up for the blown save. The 27-year-old is the subject of many a trade rumor, but wherever Miller pitches, he’s the best reliever in fantasy baseball.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that the Dodgers will send outfield prospect Zyhir Hope and right-handed pitching prospects River Ryan and Brady Smith. It was initially reported that Emmet Sheehan was included, but multiple outlets have confirmed he’s not headed to Detroit. Skubal is inarguably one of the best pitchers in baseball and has won back-to-back Cy Young Awards for the Tigers, and he joins Los Angeles with a 2.79 ERA and 116/14 K/BB in his 16 starts this year. The pending free agent will join the loaded Dodgers’ roster as the new ace, and obviously, fantasy managers have no reason to believe he won’t continue to pitch at an elite level now that he’s in Los Angeles rather than Detroit.