Both last season’s Most Valuable Player and Cy Young Award recipients from the American League find themselves sidelined with injuries.
While one pitcher appears ready to return to action, the other player just landed on the injured list within recent days.
A stress fracture in his rib will sideline slugging outfielder Aaron Judge from the New York Yankees lineup for an extended period. Meanwhile, the Detroit Tigers have played without their star pitcher Tarik Skubal for more than a month, though he completed five innings during a rehabilitation outing with Class A West Michigan on Sunday.
Despite Skubal’s potential return, the Yankees currently hold a better position than the Tigers. New York has capitalized on Tampa Bay’s recent struggles and now sits just percentage points behind the Rays for the AL East lead. In contrast, Detroit sits 12 games below .500. While the American League’s overall mediocrity keeps the Tigers within reach of playoff contention, they remain tied for last place in the AL Central despite winning five of their past six contests.
Skubal last took the mound on April 29. Detroit has gone 12-23 in his absence.
Judge has appeared in no fewer than 148 games during four of his previous five seasons. The exception came in 2023, when the Yankees failed to reach the playoffs. Without him this month, they have dropped three of their last five games.
As supporters of both the Yankees and Tigers eagerly anticipate seeing Judge and Skubal back in action, several other notable injuries could impact playoff races:
— Cal Raleigh, Mariners. Following his 60-home run campaign last season, Raleigh is hitting only .161 with seven homers in 2026, and has been unavailable since May 13 due to a right oblique strain. While Raleigh has participated in pregame activities, he will likely require a rehabilitation assignment before rejoining the team. Seattle maintains its lead in a competitive AL West division despite his absence.
— Elly De La Cruz, Reds. The standout shortstop joined the injured list last Monday with a right hamstring strain. His expected return timeline spans 2-4 weeks. Cincinnati occupies last place in the NL Central but trails a wild card spot by just 2 1/2 games.
— Francisco Lindor, Mets. New York’s shortstop remains out with a left calf strain and hasn’t appeared in a game since April 22. The Mets have shown improvement recently but still sit five games behind a wild card position.
Philadelphia’s Cristopher Sánchez extended his consecutive scoreless innings streak to 50 2/3 before it ended against San Diego on Wednesday night. Orel Hershiser holds the record with a 59-inning streak in 1988.
Hershiser also faced the Padres when he surpassed Don Drysdale’s record. How many scoreless innings did he pitch in that game to reach 59?
Detroit’s Dillon Dingler recorded two home runs, a double and a single Monday night during a 10-9 victory over Tampa Bay.
Houston rallied with six runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to defeat Pittsburgh 11-9 on Wednesday night. The Astros had trailed 8-3 in the seventh.
Isaac Paredes connected on a two-run homer for Houston in the seventh, but with the score 9-5 in the eighth, Pittsburgh’s win probability reached 98.1% — according to Baseball Savant — after Houston’s first two batters struck out.
The game-changing rally then unfolded: Nick Allen and Christian Vázquez delivered consecutive doubles. Following Jeremy Peña’s walk, Yordan Alvarez and Christian Walker produced back-to-back RBI singles. The tying run scored on a wild pitch before Cam Smith launched a two-run triple to give Houston the lead.
Hershiser broke Drysdale’s record because his final 1988 start extended into extra innings. He pitched 10 scoreless innings in that game against the Padres on Sept. 28, 1988.
