An injury to Miguel Cabrera is almost certainly the worst-possible scenario for the Detroit Tigers.
That's why Jim Leyland and the rest of the organization will be holding their breath tonight, waiting to see how Cabrera's sore back feels before Wednesday's game in Toronto.
Cabrera left Tuesday's win over the Blue Jays in the ninth inning, one inning after an at-bat in which he was clearly in pain, but Leyland said the injury took place earlier in the game.
"In the first inning, he made that diving stop and his back kind of stiffened up," Leyland said. "Then when he tried to get out of the way of a pitch, it started to bother him a little bit. I think he'll be fine."
Leyland, though, couldn't rule out having to give Cabrera his first day off of the season.
"I don't know," he said. "I can't answer that."
Cabrera, who is hitting .368 with 85 RBI in 82 games, has missed only two games since the beginning of the 2011 season. He's played at least 150 times in each of his nine full major league seasons.
Cabrera told FOX Sports Detroit's Trevor Thompson that his back started to stiffen up during batting practice.
"Hopefully, it's not a big deal," he said. "I'll come tomorrow, do some treatment and get ready to play."
