Tigers closer Jose Valverde left Tuesday's 10-8 victory over the Chicago White Sox in the ninth inning with a back injury.
"His lower back tightened up, and we had to get him out of there," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said after the game.
Valverde retired the first two batters of the ninth before yielding a single to Paul Konerko and a double to A.J. Pierzynski. While facing Alex Rios, Valverde fell behind 3-1 and was obviously in pain after throwing his last pitch.
Leyland and trainer Kevin Rand came out to the mound, and Valverde left after a short discussion.
Octavio Dotel walked Rios with his first pitch, then allowed a two-run single to Alexi Ramirez, before getting Dayan Viciedo to fly out on what narrowly missed being a walk-off home run.
