Los Angeles Dodgers: Clayton Kershaw may miss next start
Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw may miss his next start because of back soreness.
The Los Angeles Dodgers enter Wednesday six games back of the San Francisco Giants in the National League West, in large part thanks to the stability given by Clayton Kershaw at the top of the rotation.
Kershaw is 11-2 on the season with a league-leading 1.79 ERA, but he may have to miss a start or two in the near future, according to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com:
"Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw’s next start is in jeopardy as he will be sent to Los Angeles on Wednesday to have his sore back examined by club doctors. Kershaw will be examined by noted back surgeon Robert Watkins. Kershaw, the latest victim of the team’s pitching-injury epidemic, came up sore on Monday after his Sunday night loss in Pittsburgh."
This is not great news for the Dodgers, but Gurnick goes on to explain how the injury is not too severe, and that manager Dave Roberts believes Kershaw still has a chance to start Friday.
More from Call to the Pen
- Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
- Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
- Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
- Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
- 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals
Even if Kershaw says he is fine to make his scheduled start Friday, it may be wise to have him sit out a game to fully recover. What is soreness now could become chronic pain if he is rushed back in before being fully healthy.
His next scheduled start after Friday is Wednesday, July 6 against the Baltimore Orioles, so even allowing him to wait until then to pitch again could give him enough time to recover and prepare for the second half of the season without that back soreness.
Keeping Kershaw healthy may also mean keeping him from pitching in the All-Star Game, where he and Jake Arrieta each have a great claim to be the starter. If Kershaw is scratched from Friday’s start, and even in he starts July 6, an extra appearance in the All-Star Game may not be in his or the Dodgers’ best interests.
Next: Matt Carpenter is still underrated
More will be known about Kershaw after he visits with doctors, but it would be a terrible blow for the Dodgers and the game of baseball if he is to miss any time in 2016.