Dodgers News: Clayton Kershaw Pulled from Thursday's Game with Injury
Clayton Kershaw was 66 pitches into his 15th start of the season on Thursday against the Giants at Oracle Park when disaster struck. As he was warming up for the fifth inning, the Dodgers lefty felt an unwelcome sensation in his back. After just two warm-up tosses, Kershaw exited the game.
The Orange County Register's Bill Plunkett was one of the first to report the unsettling development.
"Clayton Kershaw appeared to say to trainer as he was leaving field, "It's my back." His actions after last two warmup pitches certainly reflect that."
After video review, Kershaw was noticeably wincing after throwing his pair of warm-up pitches.
Kershaw has battled back injuries throughout his career, and most recently, missed most of the month of May with a back-hip injury. It's also not his first brush with back injuries. He missed time in 2014 with an upper back strain. Clayton dealt with a herniated disk in 2016 and a lower back strain in 2017. In 2020, it was back stiffness.
Last season, the legendary lefty missed the bulk of the second half of the season and the entire post season with an elbow injury.
Clayton's health was a major factor in his decision to sign just a one-year deal this past offseason.
The Dodgers starting staff will likely have to find a way to cover a Kershaw start or two in the meantime. To make things more complicated, the team recently traded right-handed rotation sixth-man Mitch White to the Toronto Blue Jays.
