Miguel Cabrera returned to the Detroit Tigers' lineup on Saturday after missing the past four games with an abdominal strain.
Cabrera revealed to James Schmehl of MLive that he sat out with the left abdominal strain, not the sore hip flexor that the team originally announced. Cabrera told Schmehl that "right now, I'm like 70 percent, maybe 80 percent."
The third baseman looked impressive in his first at-bat, crushing a solo homer off Raul Valdes in the first inning. Cabrera finished 2-for-3, driving in three runs before being removed for Ramon Santiago in the fifth inning.
The Tigers did not announce a reason for removing Cabrera, but Schmehl speculated that the team replaced him as a precaution. Detroit led the Philadelphia Phillies, 9-0, when manager Jim Leyland pulled Cabrera.
Cabrera is now hitting .361/.455/.674 with 32 homers and 99 RBI. He is chasing his second-straight AL Triple Crown, leading the AL in average and RBI, but trailing Chris Davis by five home runs.
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