As the Los Angeles Dodgers were preparing for their Opening Day game against rival San Francisco Giants, a huge piece of their team landed on the injured list.
Left-handed pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who has projected to start tonight’s game, is dealing with a lower back injury and was placed on the injured list.
The Dodgers recalled right-handed pitcher Dustin May, who will start in his place this evening. The 22-year-old came up at the end of last season and pitched in 14 games, throwing 34.2 innings with a 3.63 ERA and 32 strikeouts.
Manger Dave Roberts said that Kershaw injured himself in a Tuesday workout and the injury never subsided.
This is huge for the Dodgers as they were relying on Kershaw to be the backbone of their loaded rotation. If this were any other team, it would have major implications. While the same can be said about the Dodgers, they have so much depth that he can be somewhat replaced.