Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw has missed time in each of the last two seasons due to back injuries, which is not ideal for a pitcher who is now north of 30 years old.
His back hadn’t caused him issues yet in 2018, although he missed the entire month of May with left bicep tendonitis, a concerning injury in its own. Though, there was some optimism as an MRI on Kershaw’s shoulder and elbow didn’t reveal any further issue.
Kershaw returned from the disabled list on Thursday against the Philadelphia Phillies but didn’t look quite like himself. His velocity was significantly down than where it usually is, carrying forward what’s been a troubling trend this season.
He was removed after five innings and 62 pitches, and after the game, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts revealed that his back tightened up on him and he will likely undergo an MRI, via Alanna Rizzo of SportsNet LA:
Kershaw’s back tightened up during his outing. They’re potentially going to do a scan. Taken out because of back, having not pitched in a month & his stuff “backing up” towards end of outing.
— Alanna Rizzo (@alannarizzo) June 1, 2018
Despite the decreased velocity, Kershaw didn’t pitch bad as he gave up four hits and one run in the five innings, striking out five compared to one walk.
Given his previous history with back issues, this is obviously a big concern for Kershaw and the Dodgers. He will not travel with the team for their weekend series in Colorado against the Rockies, and where he will go from here is currently unknown.
Kershaw missed over a month with the back problems in both 2016 and 2017. So if it is a similar injury this time then he could be out another significant portion of time, which is not ideal for a ballclub that already has three other starters currently on the disabled list.
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