Tarik Skubal set off alarm bells among Tigers fans when he left the game in his last outing with discomfort in his left side. Fortunately for Detroit, the team’s staff leader appears to have everything under control and is even expected to resume working normally.
Hours after he was unable to continue pitching in the fourth inning against the Miami Marlins, the Tigers manager, A. J. Hinch announced that Skubal’s discomfort was nothing serious.
“It’s all good news. The scan came back clean,” Hinch said, according to the Associated Press. “So obviously, that’s great for us and great for him.”
“We’ve got a lot of work to do to get him through this soreness. I don’t like him having any soreness whatsoever or any of our guys. Clearly, we were all waiting for the scan and the evaluation and to have positive news is a good step forward.”
Starting pitcher Tarik Skubal #29 of the Detroit Tigers pitches during the game against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium on August 31, 2025 in Kansas City, Missouri.
Starting pitcher Tarik Skubal #29 of the Detroit Tigers pitches during the game against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium on August 31, 2025 in Kansas City, Missouri.
Jamie Squire/Getty Images
Renowned MLB insider Bob Nightengale, meanwhile, reported on his X account that things are going so well with Skubal that he’s even scheduled to make his next start against the Cleveland Guardians, who host the Tigers at Progressive Field from Tuesday to Thursday.
This is excellent news for the Detroit team, which leads the American League Central Division an 84-65 record entering Sunday. If they maintain their current pace, they would be guaranteed to skip the Wild Card Series and advance directly to the Division Series.
In this result, Skubal has played a central role as the Tigers’ rotation anchor. The 28-year-old left-hander is having another excellent season, with 13 wins and five losses in 29 games. He leads the American League in ERA with 2.26, to which he adds 228 strikeouts and only 28 walks.
Tarik Skubal grabbed his left side after his final pitch and was removed from the game.
Please be ok. The entire Tigers season revolves around him being ok. pic.twitter.com/DAsA6z8AHy
— Ben Verlander (@BenVerlander) September 13, 2025
As you may recall, the previous season was Skubal’s breakthrough campaign, winning the Triple Crown with 18 wins, a 2.39 ERA, and 228 strikeouts. Naturally, he ended up winning the American League Cy Young Award.
The Tigers are looking to end a title drought that already seems too long. They haven’t won the World Series since 1984, while the American League title has eluded them since 2012. As for the division series, they haven’t won since 2013.
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