As if losing to the Detroit Tigers on Thursday wasn't enough, the Toronto Blue Jays fear that third baseman Troy Glaus might be sidelined a spell.

Glaus, who is suffering from a sore heel, had to be replaced in the third inning of Toronto's 5-4 loss to the visiting Tigers before a crowd of 20,416 at the Rogers Centre.

Troy Glaus will sit out Friday after aggravating a left heel injury.
(Mike Carlson/Associated Press)

It was the second time in six days that he was lifted early, fuelling speculation that the injury is worse that first feared.

"I don't know," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "He is banged up, we knew that going in.

"We will just evaluate it and see where we're at [Friday]. He won't be playing." 

Glaus was yanked midway through last Saturday's 8-5 victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays with what the Blue Jays claimed was an aggravated Achilles tendon in his left foot.

When he returned to the lineup in Monday's 9-1 rout of the Kansas City Royals, Gibbons told reporters that Glaus was bothered by a bone spur in the heel.

"There is a lot of concern," Blue Jays first baseman Lyle Overbay said. "You've just got to deal with it.

"You're going to go through those times. Hopefully, it's a short-term thing instead of a long-term thing."

Inge powers Tigers

Brandon Inge halted an 0-for-20 skid with a home run and three runs batted in, as the Tigers roared to their fifth win in six games.

Carlos Guillen and Craig Monroe had the other RBIs.

Inge homered off Toronto starter Tomo Ohka (0-1) in the third inning, hit an RBI single in Detroit's three-run fourth and had a run-scoring sacrifice fly in the sixth.

"I just stuck with it, you know," Inge said. "This game has so many ups and downs.

"I've learned over the years just don't panic. Just keep doing what you're going to do and it'll eventually come around."

"You're starting to see him realize that you just cannot pull everything," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "You can see that starting to come."

Detroit starter Mike Maroth (2-0) earned the win, allowing two runs on nine hits and two walks with two strikeouts.

"I did a good job of mixing my pitches tonight, more than I did my first start," Maroth said. "I wanted to use all my pitches and I did from the first inning all the way through the sixth inning."

Joel Zumaya pitched two scoreless innings for his second major-league save, the other coming at Toronto's expense on July 11, 2006.

Ohka lasted six innings for the Blue Jays, permitting five runs — four earned — on eight hits and a walk with two strikeouts.

"It was bad," Ohka said of his outing. "I threw strikes, but I needed some quality pitches."

Aaron Hill went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer and two runs scored for the Blue Jays.

"Honestly, we should have had that win," Hill said.

Gregg Zaun and Overbay contributed RBI doubles in a losing cause.

With files from the Associated Press