Few hours before his season began Thursday, the Dodgers unexpectedly placed a left-handed ace. Clayton Kershaw On the disabled list for back stiffness. However, luckily for Los Angeles, it doesn’t seem like Kershaw is out for long. The 32-year-old pitched from 90 feet on Friday and offered a positive update on his condition, telling MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick and other reporters that he is optimistic he will be back soon.
With Kershaw down for Thursday’s first game against archrivals Giants, the loaded Dodgers turned to the right-hander. Dustin May as your entree. The 22-year-old pitcher threw an effective performance with 4 1/3 innings of seven-stroke ball and one run, adding four strikeouts against zero walks in an 8-1 Dodgers romp.
Of course, even though the Dodgers’ first game went well in Kershaw’s absence, there’s no question that they’re a better team with the eight-time Cy-Young National League winner and three-time Cy Young winner. Kershaw wasn’t in his best form last year, however, he still had 178 1/3 innings of 3.03 ERA / 3.86 FIP releases with 9.54 K / 9 and 2.07 BB / 9.
The Dodgers will be happy to welcome Kershaw when he is ready, but there is no timetable for his return as of now. For the time being, then, May will continue to complement the budding ace. Walker Buehler, Ross Stripling, Julio Urias and Alex Wood in the Dodgers’ rotation.
