The Los Angeles Dodgers caught another tough break on Thursday, as Clayton Kershaw did not look like his usual self in his first start off the disabled list. He had last pitched May 1 before being sidelined by left biceps tendinitis.
Kershaw tossed five innings of one-run ball in the start, but his velocity was lower than normal. More so than it was earlier this season when it was also down from where he typically has been in his career.
The problem with that is the reason for the velocity dip wasn’t because of his arm injury, but instead, it was due to Kershaw’s back tightening up. That raises more concern because he has missed time in each of the last two seasons with back injuries.
Kershaw underwent an MRI on Friday morning, which revealed that he has a lower back strain that has again forced him to the disabled list. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts believes he will miss more than a month due to the injury, via Ken Gurnick of MLB.com:
It’s the same diagnosis that shelved Kershaw for five weeks last season and manager Dave Roberts said it was “fair” to expect Kershaw to miss “over a month” this time.
Kershaw compared this back injury to the one he dealt with in 2017, which was far less significant than the herniated disc he battled through in 2016. The 2017 injury was also categorized as a lower back strain and forced him to miss around five weeks.
Like he has in the past, Kershaw was treated with an epidural injection. The Dodgers ace heading back to the disabled list is bad news for the team considering they were looking forward to getting him back as three other starters remain sidelined.
The likes of Walker Buehler and Ross Stripling have managed to fill the void rather admirably, and now they and others will be called on to continue doing so.
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