DETROIT — The Twins knew they were up against a tall task with Tigers ace Tarik Skubal on the mound on Friday.

That challenge got even more daunting in the third inning when star shortstop Carlos Correa checked his swing on strike three and immediately started clutching his side and grimacing as he slowly walked back to the first-base dugout.

Correa was immediately removed from the game with what the Twins called a right oblique strain. In addition to losing their shortstop for a yet-to-be-determined amount of time, the Twins also lost the game, falling 8-2 to the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park after rain delayed the start of the game by more than an hour.

It’s a tough loss for the Twins, who are mired in a slow offensive start to the season that has affected most of their position players — but not Correa, who had been the team’s most productive bat this season.

Now, the Twins will have to navigate for a period of time without the starting left side of their infield. In addition to Correa, Royce Lewis has been on the injured list since suffering a quad strain on Opening Day. Complicating things is the fact that Brooks Lee, the Twins’ No. 2 prospect and one of the top prospects in baseball, would be a natural replacement for either but remains on the minor league injured list.

Willi Castro entered the game to replace Correa at shortstop, and the Twins will likely rely on Castro and Kyle Farmer to help fill the position in his absence.

The Correa-less Twins collected six hits in Friday’s loss, managing two off Skubal in his five innings, neither of which left the infield. The Twins finally scored a run in the ninth inning on doubles from catcher Ryan Jeffers and Farmer, his first hit of the season. Edouard Julien added an RBI single later in the inning.

They played from behind almost the entire night after Mark Canha took a Pablo López pitch at the top of the strike zone and deposited it into the left field stands in the first inning. The Tigers tacked on a second run in the fourth inning and three more in the fifth inning, chasing López out of the game.

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