Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw is returning to Los Angeles for tests on a sore back that's been bothering him for a few weeks.
Manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday that he was still hopeful Kershaw could make his next scheduled start Friday night at Dodger Stadium against Colorado.
The three-time NL Cy Young winner is 11-2 with a 1.79 ERA this season. He lost his last start on Sunday in Pittsburgh, giving up four runs and nine hits in six innings.
Roberts said Kershaw has been dealing on and off with a problem in his lower back.
"He's not any better, so what we're going to do, we decided to fly him back," Roberts said. "Try to get him on a flight tonight or tomorrow first thing in the morning. He's not pitching here in Milwaukee, so as we looked at his Friday start, to give him a couple days back home makes sense."
Kershaw has been on the disabled list only once in his nine-year career, in early 2014 with a shoulder strain.
"He's going to consult with the docs when he gets back to LA and we'll see where we go from there," Roberts said before Tuesday night's game at Miller Park.
Roberts said he did not know if any examination would include an MRI or CT scan.
"I think that it's to get him in the doctors' hands, then they'll go from there," Roberts said. "I think that they're going to do whatever they can to figure out what the problem is."
"It's been a few weeks where it's been in and out and he's so good, it kind of started barking a little bit, so I think that right now we just want to kind of get some answers," he said.
Roberts said it was not a hip problem, which Kershaw dealt with last season.
"It's no hip. I know it's the back, to the extent of that, I know it's barking and I just want to see what we've got," he said.
Kershaw did not specifically ask to return to Los Angeles, Roberts said.
"I think it was just more of the training staff and him conferring and having discussions and feeling this was the best thing for Clayton," he said.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
