Just days after the Los Angeles Dodgers did not acquire a starting pitcher at the MLB trade deadline, they might be without one of their bests in the near future.
Three-time Cy Young Award winner, Clayton Kershaw, left his start against the San Francisco Giants in the fifth inning on Thursday with a lower back injury.
Kershaw had allowed just two runs, on a two-run J.D. Davis homer, through the first four innings of his outing on Thursday. After the Dodgers batted in the top half of the fifth inning, Kershaw went back out to the mound to throw some warmup pitches before the bottom half of the inning began.
During one of his warmup pitches, Kershaw appeared to tweak something in his lower back. He looked to the dugout and the trainers, and then motioned for one more pitch. He threw one more warmup pitch and then immediately called the trainers out and walked off the field.
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Before leaving the game, the 34-year-old Kershaw threw 66 pitches, allowing two runs (one earned), on three hits with one walk and four strikeouts. He left with the lead, but would not factor in the decision because he did not finish the minimum 5-inning requirement to be eligible for the win.
Kershaw spent time on the injured list earlier this season due to inflammation in a pelvic joint. He was 7-3 with a 2.66 ERA in 14 starts coming into the day.
Right-hander Phil Bickford came on in relief. The NL West-leading Dodgers are going for their fifth straight win, and eighth straight over their rivals, the Giants.
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The Dodgers confirmed later in the game that Kershaw did indeed leave the game with a lower back injury, the same general location that placed him on the injured list earlier in the season.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
