Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw was placed on the 15-day disabled
list Saturday for the first time in his seven-year career because of a
swollen muscle in his left upper back.
The 26-year-old left-hander, coming off his second Cy Young Award in three
years, already had been scratched from his scheduled start in San Diego on
Sunday after an MRI revealed the problem.
Kershaw was on a throwing progression program and was tossing the ball at
different distances Saturday before the team's Freeway Series finale against
the Angels when he experienced some discomfort on his 27th throw.
"He felt it, and that was the last straw," manager Don Mattingly said. "So at
that point, we knew we couldn't have gone any farther and that it was a DL
situation. It's a situation