Clayton Kershaw Scratched From Sunday Start With Upper Back Inflammation

Great, this is just great. I’m being sarcastic of course, because this really sucks! The Dodgers announced about an hour ago that Clayton Kershaw will be scratched from his scheduled start on Sunday night at San Diego because of inflammation in his upper left back.

Lance Iversen-USA TODAY Sports

Kershaw apparently reported feeling discomfort while playing catch on Tuesday. The Dodgers had him undergo an MRI to determine the severity, and found the inflammation. I don’t know how serious this is, but it doesn’t sound good.

Kershaw certainly seemed fine during his first start of the 2014 season last Saturday night against the Dbacks in Sydney, Australia. In the opening game, Kershaw threw 6.2 innings of one run ball. He allowed just five hits, one walk, and struck out seven. He made 102 pitches that night, and was his usual stingy self.

The inflammation is in the teres muscle or whatever. According to the reports the muscle stabilizes the upper arm. Don’t ask me, I just work here.

Anyways, Hyun-jin Ryu seems likely to take the start on Sunday, but remember he has an injury too. He hurt his toenail running the bases in the  second game of the Sydney series. What a facepalm. According to rumors, the Dodgers are likely to have Zack Greinke start game two of the series on Tuesday night, with Dan Haren going on Wednesday. The Dodgers have said Kershaw’s progress will determine when he pitches next. After that is anyone’s guess. Try not to jump off a cliff Dodger fans, Maybe it’s not as bad as it sounds? In the meantime we’ll keep you posted.