As they continue to play without ace Clayton Kershaw, the Los Angeles Dodgers have remained on the heels of the San Francisco Giants. Coming off a disappointing series against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field, the Dodgers returned home to face the Boston Red Sox.
The weekend series marked the start of a nine-game homestand for Los Angeles, and also came with the all-too-familiar need to juggle their rotation. Rich Hill was unable to start due to blister issues and Bud Norris was forced to the disabled list with a back strain.
After dropping the first game of the series, the Dodgers rebounded for back-to-back victories. While Kershaw of course is unable to play at present time, the cameras caught him having fun at the expense of teammate Alex Wood.
As Wood was leaned agains the railing in the Dodgers’ dugout, Kershaw, with some help from Scott Van Slyke, placed sunflower seeds on Wood’s back:
Wood eventually appeared to realize he was the victim of a prank and took it in stride. Kershaw and Wood are both on the 60-day disabled list, and expected to return at some point in September.
Wood underwent an arthroscopic debridement of his left elbow in late July and given the amount of time missed, he’s a candidate to pitch out of the bullpen upon being reinstated from the DL.
