The Detroit Tigers avoided the worst-case scenario with the abdominal injury to left-hander Tarik Skubal and the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner is being lined up to make his next start.
Skubal, 28, exited his start Friday against the Miami Marlins after 3 1/3 innings with tightness in his left side. He underwent further testing early Saturday to determine the extent of the injury.
Detroit manager A.J. Hinch told reporters that imaging did not detect an injury of note and was confident Skubal can take his turn in the rotation next week.
The Tigers lead the AL Central and were 1 1/2 games behind the Toronto Blue Jays for best record in the AL, heading into play Saturday.
Skubal, who has been an AL All-Star in each of the past two seasons, has gone 13-5 with a 2.26 ERA in 29 starts this campaign. In six seasons with the Tigers, he is 54-36 with a 3.10 ERA in 135 appearances (132 starts).
