The good news keeps coming for the Detroit Tigers.
Left-hander Tarik Skubal — the reigning American League Cy Young winner — is scheduled to start Thursday, Sept. 18, against the Cleveland Guardians in the finale of a three-game series at Comerica Park, following an injury scare in his last start.
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The 28-year-old completed his regular bullpen session Monday, Sept. 15, in preparation for Thursday’s start.
“The sight of Tarik Skubal throwing off the mound was really awesome,” manager A.J. Hinch said Tuesday, Sept. 16, on MLB Network Radio. “He threw his normal bullpen. We’re going day by day. I’ll check in with him today. We’ll continue to inch towards his next start. Right now, that’s penciled in for Thursday.”
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Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) delivers a pitch against the Miami Marlins during the first inning at loanDepot Park in Miami on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025.
In Monday’s bullpen session, Skubal threw with maximum effort and “probably worked a little bit harder” than usual to ensure he was fully heathy.
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He didn’t experience any discomfort.
“Everything felt good,” Skubal said before Tuesday’s game. “It’s one of those weird things. I don’t really know how to explain it. Bullpen went well. Scans came back good. It’s on to the next one.”
Skubal suffered tightness on his left side of his body Friday, Sept. 12, in the fourth inning of an 8-2 loss to the Miami Marlins at loanDepot Park, removing himself from the game after 45 pitches and 3â…“ innings. He felt the tightness in the rib cage area.
After that, Skubal flew to Detroit on Saturday for medical tests.
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The exam showed no structural damage.
“When he motions us out, I got a million things going through my head,” Hinch said. “Tarik is very transparent all the time. What you see is what you get. He’s a straight shooter.
“We talked it through, and as soon as he said he had this soreness, I just stuck my hand out, like, ‘Give me the ball, Tarik. This is non-negotiable.’ We get him in. We fly him to Detroit. He gets his test. It comes back clean.”
Skubal isn’t managing any soreness in his left side as he gets ready for Thursday’s start.
“There was nothing there,” Skubal said, “so it was all good.”
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Skubal leads the American League with a 2.26 ERA across 183â…“ innings in 29 starts, registering 28 walks and 224 strikeouts. He is the favorite to repeat as the AL Cy Young winner in 2025, but Boston Red Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet is closing the gap as MLB’s leader in innings (191â…“) and strikeouts (240).
To secure the Cy Young, Skubal would benefit from starting Thursday against the Guardians.
“He’s going to want to make that start,” Hinch said. “We’ve got to continue to check in with him and run through the battery of tests. To this point, heading to the field today, he’s done everything as he normally would to make his next start.”
Before Thursday’s game, the Tigers are scheduled to start right-hander Casey Mize on Tuesday and right-hander Jack Flaherty on Wednesday in the first two games of the series. Entering Tuesday, the Tigers have a 6½-game lead over the Guardians with 12 games remaining in the regular season and can clinch the AL Central with a three-game sweep.
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The Tigers and Guardians are scheduled for six games in the next 10 days, beginning Tuesday.
“This series is going to be fun,” Skubal said. “We tend to play some good baseball games against each other. Hopefully, we sweep, and I think that’s the division, if the math works out. But it starts with today’s game.”
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tarik Skubal injury update: Tigers ace completes ‘normal bullpen’