Tarik Skubal left his start earlier than expected against the Miami Marlins due to discomfort in his left side. The Detroit Tigers pitcher felt an uncomfortable tightness near his left lat area beneath his throwing arm and was removed from the game.According to the Tigers, Skubal will undergo initial tests upon his return to Detroit for evaluation.“We don’t know,” Tigers coach AJ Hinch said. “Obviously, it’s scary. When you go out to the mound, you don’t know what’s going on. Tarik said he could (feel) a little tightness in his left side, and we’re gonna take him out right away at that point. He said he could keep throwing, but we weren’t even going to have him throw a warmup pitch to see.”Skubal's unusual outing, which was likely affected by his injury, ended in the fourth innings at just 45 pitches for his shortest career start in almost four years. After one out in the fourth inning, the defending AL Cy Young winner signaled towards the bench and was then taken off the mound."I understand there is some sort of concern, but at the same time, I've seen our trainer do a lot of physical stuff," Skubal said. "In that aspect, I'm optimistic. We'll get more information, get some imaging on it, and see what's there just to calm the brain down, too.Tarik Skubal was hit for homers in the first two innings by Marlins sluggers, Agustin Ramirez and Heriberto Hernández. While there were no major changes in his velocity, the ferocity of Skubal's pitches seemed to be affected. Heading into the game, he had a 14.0 innings scoreless streak. He had a 2.10 ERA that unfortunately rose to 2.26 ERA.Tarik Skubal's health crucial to Tigers' postseason successThe Tigers lead the AL Central by 7.5 games and are expected to be one of the two leading division winners from the American League, which will give them a bye into the Division Series. That makes them well-equipped to go deep into the playoffs.Tarik Skubal understood that and took the necessary precaution, coming off the mound by himself for the first time in his career.“Just wasn’t very comfortable letting it go after that,” Skubal said. “This time of year, what we’ve got going forward, I didn’t want to risk doing something that causes me to really miss some time.”The 28-year-old remains the frontrunner for the AL Cy Young award yet again, currently third in the MLB in ERA and second in strikeouts. The seriousness of the injury will determine whether the Tigers choose to rest him till the postseason.If Tarik Skubal wins the Cy Young, he will become the first person in the American League since Pedro Martinez in 1999 and 2000 to repeat as a winner.