MLB Weekly Digest: Playoff Picture Heating Up, Tarik Skubal Exits Start

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This week in MLB featured the playoff picture heating up, AL Cy-Young favorite Tarik Skubal leaving his start early, and the Blue Jays calling up their top pitching prospect.

Skubal exits start early –

The American League Cy Young award frontrunner, Tarik Skubal, left his start early Friday after tightness on his right side.

MRI imaging on Saturday revealed no structural damage, and Skubal will begin throwing again on Monday. If all goes well, Skubal may take his next turn in the rotation this week vs the Guardians.

Tarik Skubal’s imaging came back clean and he plans on making his next scheduled start, Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. Skubal was optimistic after leaving last night’s game with discomfort in his side, and his optimism was well-founded as Detroit tries to capture AL home field.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) September 13, 2025

The Tigers are currently 85-65, 6.5 games ahead of the Guardians in the American League Central.

Skubal has posted a 2.26 ERA in 29 starts and 183.1 IP with 224 K.

A loss of their ace going into the postseason would be detrimental to the Tigers’ pennant hopes.

Toronto promoting top pitching prospect –

CONFIRMED: Trey Yesavage will start and make his @MLB debut tomorrow! pic.twitter.com/xD8GxWd2mB

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) September 14, 2025

The Toronto Blue Jays are promoting top pitching prospect and MLB.com’s No. 25 overall prospect, Trey Yesavage, to pitch Monday vs the Rays.

Yesavage, 22, was drafted 2oth overall last summer in the 2024 MLB draft.

This season, the righthander has posted a 3.12 ERA in 25 games and 22 starts. Across 98 innings, Yesavage has racked up 160 K with a WHIP of 0.97 across all minor league levels (Low A, High A, Double A, Triple A)

Dodgers place All-Star catcher on IL –

The Los Angeles Dodgers placed catcher Will Smith on the injured list Saturday with a right-hand contusion.

The injury is retroactive to September 10th, and the priority for the Dodgers now focuses on getting Smith healthy for October. The initial hope was that the injury would heal with a couple of days off, but it did not respond the way the Dodgers had hoped.

Smith, 30, is slashing .296/.404/.497 with an OPS of .901 with 17 homers in 110 games.

With Dalton Rushing also on the injured list, the Dodgers will turn to Ben Rortvedt and Chuckie Robinson behind the dish.

Playoff race heating up –

With only two weeks remaining in the MLB season, the playoff races are coming to an end very soon. Here is what we have going into this week:

The Toronto Blue Jays currently hold a four-game lead over the New York Yankees and a five-and-a-half-game lead over the Boston Red Sox in the AL East.

The Detroit Tigers have a six and a half game lead over the Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central.

The Seattle Mariners have a one-game lead over the Houston Astros in the AL West.

The Milwaukee Brewers hold a five and a half game lead over the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central.

The Los Angeles Dodgers hold a two-and-a-half game lead over the San Diego Padres in the NL West.

As for the American League Wild Card, the New York Yankees have the first spot with a one and a half game lead on the Boston Red Sox. The third and final American League Wild Card spot currently belongs to the Houston Astros.

Houston is trailed closely by the Texas Rangers, who are two games behind. The Cleveland Guardians have been red hot, winning nine of their last ten, and are two and a half games back.

The National League Wild Card race has become interesting this past week as the Cubs and Padres have all but locked up their spots. The final spot is currently held by the New York Mets, who this week have lost eight straight games. This skid has allowed the Giants to climb back to one and a half games behind the Mets.

The Arizona Diamondbacks and Cincinnati Reds remain in striking distance, as Arizona is two games behind the Mets, and Cincinnati is two and a half.

Schedule this week for these teams:

The Blue Jays will play the Rays and the Royals

The Yankees will travel to Minnesota to play the Twins and the Orioles

The Red Sox will host the Athletics, then travel to play the Rays

The Guardians will travel to play the Tigers and the Twins

The Tigers will host the Guardians and the Braves

The Astros will host the Rangers and the Mariners

The Rangers will travel to Houston and host the Marlins

The Mariners will travel to Kansas City and Houston

The Mets will host the Padres and the Nationals

The Reds will travel to play the Cardinals, then travel to play the Cubs

The Dodgers will host the Phillies and the Giants

The Padres will travel to play the Mets and the White Sox

About Post Author

Michael Bodzenta

Growing up in Cleveland, Ohio, I fell in love with sports from a young age. Whether I was playing them throughout high school or in the yard with my friends, I knew I had found something I loved. Watching them was also a main part of my childhood, as I could name almost every player on all three Cleveland sports teams. Talking about sports is something I can do for hours, so as I got older, I quickly realized that I knew what I wanted to do. I started writing about sports and talking about sports in high school. It was fun and easy for me. My dream goal would be to become baseball analyst, covering breaking news and other stories in the sport. I've written numerous articles about sports including the Browns and the Guardians. I currently write for Kent Wired, where I expanded my knowledge to cover Health and Fitness. I have experience with Adobe Photoshop, Premier, and Audition. I work as the social media manager/representative for the Kent State Club Baseball team creating graphics mostly on Instagram and some on Twitter (X) . The goal of this is to get more engagement for the team, create awareness, and raise money. I also currently coach for a 17u travel baseball organization (Midwest Stars) out of Hudson, Ohio. Through this I have been able to continue my love for the game, give back to the community, and strengthen my leadership qualities. My passion for sports especially baseball remains unquestioned and I strive to continue to report on something I love.

mbodzent@kent.edu

https://ngscsports.com/