Kershaw's next start pushed back
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WASHINGTON -- After the Dodgers’ 7-3 win over the Nationals on Sunday at Nationals Park, manager Dave Roberts announced that left-hander Clayton Kershaw wouldn’t make his start on Monday against the Padres.
Instead, Kershaw will be pushed back four days and is now scheduled to start on Friday in Seattle. Right-hander Gavin Stone, Los Angeles’ No. 5 prospect, will take the mound on Monday in Kershaw’s place.
Ryan Yarbrough, who got the ball on Sunday, will go on paternity leave Monday to make room for Stone on the active roster. Yarbrough is expected back with the team by Friday.
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Kershaw, who has seen a significant dip in velocity over his past two starts, continues to work through a left shoulder injury that sidelined him for over a month earlier this season, according to Roberts.
But the Dodgers manager insisted that the move to push the veteran back wasn’t related to an injury. Instead, Roberts said there’s “no downside” to making the move, and he added that the thinking behind the decision is to line up Kershaw for his future starts.
“He’s just going to try to stay sharp,” Roberts said. “And I talked to him about what we’re kind of prognosticating, and he’s in with it.”
With Kershaw now set to start Friday instead of Monday, he will have nine days of rest in between starts. He also presumably would have only three starts remaining in the regular season against the Mariners, Giants and Rockies.
If healthy, Kershaw will once again be tasked with being a key piece of the Dodgers’ starting rotation, one that has been affected by injuries for most of the season and is now without Julio Urías, who is on paid administrative leave following domestic violence charges.
Assuming the Dodgers lock up the National League West (their magic number is down to 7), they would host Game 1 of the NL Division Series on Oct. 7 at Dodger Stadium. Game 2 would be on Oct. 9.