The Los Angeles Dodgers pitching staff has been decimated by injuries this season, and that trend continued on Saturday.
Clayton Kershaw pitched just one-plus innings in his start against the Arizona Diamondbacks, allowing three runs before exiting the game with Dodgers head trainer Thomas Albert.
Kershaw’s final pitch was a 67.4 mph curveball that was hit for a home run by Corbin Carroll, and the pitch prior to that was an 87.2 mph fastball.
During the game, the Dodgers announced Kershaw was dealing with left big toe pain, and manager Dave Roberts later added that Kershaw is dealing with a bone spur in his toe, via Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
After the game, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said “it’s a bone spur” and something Kershaw has been dealing with for “a couple years, off and on.”
“It’s obviously not good. There’s swelling. There’s pain. He’s doing everything he can to kind of get through,” Roberts said. “Some starts, it feels fine and it’s not impeding. Today certainly it was. He just … he had nothing. No legs today obviously. Then you start worrying about how it could affect his arm.”
Kershaw declined to go into the specifics of his injury, but noted it was frustrating and caused him trouble pushing off the rubber, which explained the significant drop in velocity:
“I just couldn’t really push off,” Kershaw said, declining to be specific about the injury or how long he’s been dealing with it. “It’s frustrating when everything seems to be feeling great. But no matter what I did I couldn’t find a comfortable way to push off on my toe. It’s super frustrating obviously to put the team in a really tough spot, having the bullpen cover eight innings.
“They battled and grinded. The bullpen is hanging after today. Obviously I’m disappointed to be the culprit behind that. But they did an unbelievable job and it was a big win for us.”
The next steps for Kershaw and the Dodgers are still to be determined, but a stint on the 15-day injured list is in the cards.
After using up their bullpen on Friday, the Dodgers are in desperate need of pitching reinforcements and rosters don’t expand until Sunday:
Roberts said Kershaw could “potentially” end up on the injured list with this injury but reinforcements are definitely on the way, regardless.
“We pitched guys tonight that we were really trying to stay away from, but we had to finish the game and cover the game,” Roberts said. “I’d be shocked if we don’t have to make a move or two tomorrow.”
Among options that the Dodgers could recall include Michael Grove, Brent Honeywell, Landon Knack, Michael Petersen and Justin Wrobleski. However, Wrobleski figures to start on Sunday.
Clayton Kershaw stats
Kershaw entered the night 2-2 with a 3.72 ERA and 1.41 WHIP in six starts this season, but exited with a 4.50 ERA after allowing three runs in just one inning.
Kershaw has thrown just 30 innings this season after missing the majority of the year while recovering from offseason shoulder surgery. He has made seven starts in 2024, and when the next one will be is unclear.
If Kershaw finishes with an ERA above 3.00, it would mark just the fourth time in his career he’s done that. If it checks in above 4.00, it would be the first time since Kershaw’s rookie season with the Dodgers.
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