Clayton Kershaw injury: Dodgers pitcher to miss 4-6 weeks with back injury
After Clayton Kershaw left the Los Angeles Dodgers game on Sunday afternoon only two innings into his start, it looks like he’ll be missing four to six weeks.
This is exactly what Brian Roberts and the Los Angeles Dodgers did not want heading into the stretch run of the MLB season. They’re 37 games above .500, at 68-31. They’re 10.5 games up on the second-place Colorado Rockies and well on their way to winning the National League West.
The Dodgers’ best player and pitcher, Clayton Kershaw, took the mound on Sunday afternoon against the Atlanta Braves. Kershaw came into the start with a record of 15-2 and a 2.04 ERA. It seemed like the former Cy Young winner was well on his way to adding to his collection of Cy Young awards.
Two innings into his start, Kershaw hurt his back and didn’t return to the rest of the game. At the time, everyone was unaware what the specific injury was, but early reports suggest he will miss extended time.
Per Ken Rosenthal, it looks like Kershaw will have a second opinion on his back, but the initial prognosis says that he’ll be missing four to six weeks.
Sources: Initial prognosis is that #Dodgers’ Kershaw will miss 4 to 6 weeks. Final determination will be made after he sees Dr. Watkins.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 24, 2017
That could definitely be a huge blow to the Dodgers’ current run of success. If Kershaw were to miss up to six weeks, he’ll be returning right around the time of the MLB Playoffs. As the top pitcher on their staff, it could be difficult to quickly return and pitch meaningful baseball in October.
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As Rosenthal mentions in his tweet, Kershaw will visit with Dr. Watkins, who will give the final call on if Kershaw will hit the DL or not. In the meantime, the Dodgers had no issue with the Braves on Sunday, with a walk-off victory. Let’s see how the Dodgers hold up without their workhorse.