The Tigers won their game (and weekend series) on Sunday against the Rays by a 9-4 score. Alas, they couldn’t celebrate as much as they would’ve liked to, because the win coincided with injuries to a pair of key players

First, Jordan Zimmermann exited in the sixth inning with a strained groin. Zimmermann is likely to undergo a MRI over the next day or so to determine the severity of the injury. As Chris McCosky noted, the Tigers have a day off during the upcoming week, so theoretically they could skip Zimmermann’s turn in the rotation and allow him to heal up without placing him on the disabled list. That’s probably the best-case scenario, all things considered.

Another best-case scenario seemed to play out later in the game. Miguel Cabrera, who had homered earlier in the game, was lifted for a pinch-runner after taking a Dana Eveland pitch to his knee. The Tigers called the injury a contusion and labeled Cabrera as day-to-day. As we all know, things could’ve been worse — much, much worse for a guy Cabrera’s age.

To state the obvious: the Tigers can’t afford to lose either Zimmermann or Cabrera for long if they’re to make a serious run at the division crown: they entered Sunday 4 1/2 games back of first place in the AL Central.