Left-handed pitcher Tarik Skubal appears to have avoided an injury after images came back clean on his left side, manager A.J. Hinch told reporters on Saturday, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
He is expected to make his next scheduled start as the team will continue to monitor him daily.
The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner — and favourite to repeat this year — struggled through 3.1 innings against the Miami Marlins on Friday before being pulled with discomfort on his side. He allowed four runs and two home runs while hitting a batter.
In the fourth, Skubal gave up a leadoff single to Miami’s Heriberto Hernández and then retired Eric Wagaman on a flyout to centre field when he motioned to Hinch and a Tigers training staff member.
“There are some aches and pains that come and go when you’re out there playing. This one was new to me,” Skubal told reporters post-game. “And that’s kind of what made my decision (to come out of the game) for me.”
Skubal had given up just one earned run over his previous 27.1 innings and had thrown seven scoreless frames in each of his last two starts.
The AL Central-leading Tigers (84-64) are 7.5 games ahead of the second-place Cleveland Guardians and are vying for one of the top two seeds in the AL. Losing their ace down the stretch would have dealt a costly blow to their World Series expectations.
“It’s frustrating to me as a starting pitcher,” Skubal said. “I put our team in a bad spot not only today but for the rest of the series with a lot of guys that had to throw that shouldn’t.”
The Tigers continue their series with the Marlins on Saturday after dropping the opener 8-2.
–with files from The Associated Press