Tarik Skubal is likely still on his way to another AL Cy Young award this season, and the Detroit Tigers have been coming behind him. The Motor City Kitties entered Skubal's start on Friday against the Miami Marlins with an eight-game lead in the AL Central that seems all but insurmountable for any of their divisional foes. Unfortunately, the vibes weren't as high as you'd might think with that, and they'll be even lower after Skubal left the game with an injury midway through his start.
In the fourth inning, with Skubal having recorded 10 outs and thrown 45 pitches, he threw the 46th to Marlins utility man Eric Wagaman, getting him to fly out to center. However, when the cameras cut to Skubal, he was grabbing his left side in visible pain. That brought out the trainer and he was pulled from the game in short order thereafter.
AL Cy Young favorite Tarik Skubal left the game due to injury after reaching for the left side of his body after throwing a pitch pic.twitter.com/LTIZtiRC43
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) September 13, 2025
No one ever wants to see a player leave a game with an injury, even if it's the reality of the sport. However, it's particularly brutal and hard to watch when it's a player like Skubal, one of the game's true superstars and beacons of fan interest. And for the Tigers, losing Skubal just over two weeks before the start of the postseason might spell their doom depending on the injury.
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Tarik Skubal injury in itself is concerning based on the updates
Before you talk about the ramifications for the Tigers, you have to talk about the injury itself based on what we know. The club announced officially that Skubal left the game with left side tightness. While that's far from specific and we'll certainly know more later on Friday after the game's conclusion and once Skubal undergoes some testing after, that type of injury is always a concern.
When you're talking about the side, it could be something with the ribs or the oblique. For a pitcher especially (but really any player), that can be a semi-lengthy recovery. There's not much that you can do to rehab it, and it certainly limits a player's mobility, which can lead to a longer rehab on top of that.
So just talking about what we know about Skubal's injury, that could be bad news. Best-case scenario, it's just some discomfort that goes away in short order, maybe missing a star. Worst-case scenario, though, and this could be something that lasts into the postseason.
And with the current state of the Tigers, it's hard to describe how devastating that could be.
Tigers aren't in a position to enter postseason without Tarik Skubal
Despite their dominant lead in the division, the Tigers haven't been dominant at all in the second half of the season. This team entered the All-Star break with a 59-38 record and vying for the best mark in baseball. Since then, though, they've been the definition of middling, coming into play on Friday night with just a 25-25 second-half record.
Skubal has been the steady constant for this team, but everything else has fallen off since then. The numbers bear that out, as well. Here's a look at their first-half numbers and ranks:
- Team OPS: .749 (6th)
- Starter ERA: 3.43 (6th)
- Bullpen ERA: 4.13 (21st)
And here's how this same team has dropped off since the break in Atlanta.
- Team OPS: .731 (12th)
- Starter ERA: 4.64 (20th)
- Bullpen ERA: 3.85 (12th)
The bullpen ERA is the only aspect that's improved. However, considering the drop in OPS offensively and the starters' ERA jumping by more than a point, that hasn't mattered — and could probably be construed as the relievers pitching in lower-leverage situations.
You remove Skubal from this team, though, and that puts them in a terrible spot for the playoffs. He could be a tone-setter, a game-changer as the Game 1 starter in any series. Without him, the Tigers are suddenly extremely human.
ESPN's Jeff Passan reported that Skubal will undergo imaging on Saturday to determine the injury's severity. Everyone in Detroit should be waiting on that with bated breath and prayers. If this Tigers team has to go on without Skubal, their stay in the postseason will likely be short-lived.