1:40PM: Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told Jorge Castillo of the L.A. Times (Twitter links) and other reporters that chances are “very good” that Kershaw will pitch in the NLCS but he won’t be starting Game 3. Kershaw’s back spasms developed during his bullpen session on Sunday, Roberts said.
11:57PM: The Dodgers have optimism that Kershaw can be back for Game 4, MLB Network’s Jon Morosi tweets. “If his back improves relatively quickly,” there’s a chance Kershaw could even be ready for Game 3.
11:02PM: Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw has been scratched from his scheduled start in today’s Game 2 of the NLCS due to back spasms. Tony Gonsolin will instead take the ball to start against the Braves.
Kershaw has dealt with back problems at various points during this career, including a bout of back tightness that put him on the injured list for the first week of the 2020 season. Naturally, the timing couldn’t be much worse for Kershaw to again suffer back woes just hours before the start of Game 2, and the question now becomes when exactly the longtime Dodger ace will be able to pitch again.
Depending on the severity of the spasms, Kershaw could potentially start Wednesday’s Game 3, though that would seem to be a quick turn-around. Assuming the spasms are minor, Kershaw could be held off until Game 4 on Thursday, in what could be a series-deciding game should Los Angeles fall behind 3-0.
The Dodgers had been relying on Walker Buehler and Kershaw as the cornerstone of their postseason rotation plan, with the duo starting the first two games of each playoff series thus far. Dustin May started Game 3 of the NLDS against the Padres, and some combination of May, Gonsolin, and Julio Urias was expected to handle the third and fourth starter duties for the remainder of the playoffs, the Dodgers also making liberal use of their bullpen. Alex Wood was also added to the Dodgers’ NLCS roster to provide even more pitching depth given the lack of off-days throughout the series.
More immediately, Gonsolin now faces the immediate and unexpected pressure of having to keep Los Angeles out of an 0-2 series deficit in his postseason debut. Gonsolin has impressed over his two MLB seasons, posting a 2.60 ERA, 3.77 K/BB, and 8.6 K/9 over 86 2/3 innings, starting 14 of his 20 career games. It is something of a tribute to the Dodgers’ depth that a promising young arm like Gonsolin wasn’t even a full-time starter for them heading into October, but he will have a stiff test in a Braves lineup that crushed right-handed pitching this season.
Shoot
The Dodgers can do without “Post Season Kershaw”.
We will see! All the $ in the world, still can’t build a championship club, especially when 75% was in place from the NC & Co. Regime!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Let’s see: Bellinger, Seager, Pederson, Turner, Ruiz, Kershaw, Urias, Jansen, Baez, Gonzalez, Ferguson.
If I’m not mistaken, that’s every single player who played for the Dodgers in 2020 who came to the team before Friedman did. That 75% comment is *checks math* complete nonsense.
But Friedman has kept those guys and they haven’t won a championship… let’s be honest here, Friedman was way better on the Rays.
Oh come on, how many of those guys was he wrong to keep? And it’s easy to say he was better with the Rays, because no one was ever disappointed in the Rays merely making the playoffs. The standards for these Dodgers is world series or bust, which speaks to how well he’s done.
His history doesn’t favor him. Fortunately, he has a good excuse with his back being troublesome right now. I assume it is legit. He’s had physical issues as of late. I’d love to see him lose the clincher.
Maybe Kershaw will put his team in a 3-1 hole tomorrow.
You know what’s weird, I have been shaming Globe Life Field for how bland it was, and how I just didn’t like it. But last night… I think it was really nice. That playoff atmosphere (even with 11,000 there) was electric. I am so surprised how that changed just by having fans there. And, last night they seemed to change the camera angle a little bit, and I think it was perfect. That was my most enjoyable GLF game I’ve seen yet.
Honestly, I found the fans in the stands a bit disconcerting after 3 months of empty stadiums. Has been nice not to have the networks cut to shots of morons in the stands while i’m trying to watch a game.
I liked seeing people in jerseys from the Cards, Rangers, Dodgers, Padres, and Braves all in the stadium. That was neat to see after some time away from fans.
Wiffle, I could not agree more. I cannot stand when TV broadcasts show fans cheering after a HR, big play, etc. Irritating. If you’re at the game you don’t look around at other fans, you watch the on field action. No more fan shots, please.
Guess you just have to cut to the morons in your own room. Beware.
As a Braves fan, I hope this is good news
Afraid it’s not. Gonsolin’s lights out. He’s better than Kershaw is these days
Kershaw has been pretty good this postseason so it’s still a significant loss. Luckily we have a lot of young guns to fill his spot. Gonsolin looked like the real deal this season so I hope he can hold down the fort. The Braves bullied us yesterday and looked like a team that was hungrier than it’s opponent.
Lights out? Braves up 2 to 0. It’s early but I wouldn’t call that lights out.
SFGKifer He hasn’t been lights out tonight. In fact, he’s gotten his lights knocked out tonight.
hopefully he can start game 3 or 4 but this probably eliminates him from starting twice thus series
I think after Cat Man it will be Urias for Game 3, then maybe Wood for 4.
The writing has been on the wall for awhile. For this team to succeed, the young pitchers of Buehler, May, Urias, Gonsolin, Graterol, Gonzalez have to step up big time
Can you tell me how Wood is going to pitch a game being on the taxi squad he is not eligible to pitch….???
He was named to the NLCS roster. He was not part the active roster during NLDS.
I respect the heck out of Kershaw and hate to see this happen. To the Dodger fans who consistently talk, try refraining for a change.
Not saying but saying. You talk all this about beating up the injured Padres and o I don’t want to see injuries.
But see, it does affect things.
I think it would have been a good idea for you to refrain, just this once.
Just sayin’
I’ll paint a picture for you.
You wait 14 years for your team to make the playoffs.
They do and their beat up. You play a very talented Cards team and scrape by.You are thrilled to make it to the next round but it’s against your hated rival.
Your city is overrun by Dodgers fans who routinely outnumber you at Petco.
You end up watching the 12 to 3 drubbing at a San Diego sports bar where half the fans are Dodgers.
They cheer obnoxiously and rub it in your face as the beat you, in your home town.
This has been going on in San Diego since 1969.
I get the picture, but you need to try to come to terms with it. It seems to really be eating you up.
The rudest comments I’ve seen on TradeRumors have been from Padres fans bro, save your sad story for someone who will buy into your narrative.
If you add up the consecutive years of play that collectively the Dodgers, Braves and Padres have gone without a WS, it’s 112 years. So there’s a lot of yearning all around
That just barely beats the Cubs 108 streak!
Your picture is garbage and your fans have been asking for the Dodgers since the trade deadline-
You got us buddy, did you enjoy the expierence?
Sd fans remind me of Clipper fans, you think in your head theres some kind of big rivalry but its only in your head- You guys dont even hit our radar, quit whinning its getting sad
Injuries are no excuse. Hanley Ramirez (our best player at the time) was taken out by a pitch to his ribs in his very first at bat in the first game of 2013 NLCS against the cardinals, then there’s Adrian Gonzalez’ bad back, Ethier’s broken leg, Kenley’s heart, Caleb Ferguson’s UCL, Hyun Jin Ryu’s torn Labrum, Julio Urías’ shoulder, Seager’s UCL, Buehler’s blister, and now Kershaw’s back are all excuses that no one will ever accept as reasons why the dodgers haven’t won a World Series in over 30yrs. Hell, people don’t even seem to consider what happened in 2017 an excuse for not winning.
Taylor, it’s not your job to make excuses!
THAT’S ALL YOU GUYS DO GOOD.
IT’S EITHER A LEG THING.
OR A SPIRITUAL THING.
OR A PHYSCHOLOGICAL THING.
OR A HEART ATTACK.
Haha great post Brif-
In all reality 90% of the problem has been the back-end of the bullpen the last 8 years for LAD and managment of it at certain times – I dont know how that still eludes everyone (even in Lala land)
I thought Grat made the most sense but ya cant argue in being able to put him in when they did and put out that fire- Pache looked like that 74 lb 2 inn sub in little league up to bat where all the parents in the stands just hoped he didnt get beaned at the plate
Atl has just as many (if not more injs) than us right now – Whoever wins deserves it , No excuses
To further thats not even that many injs Frankie if your dating back to 2013-
We (LAD) have actually had pretty clean runs health wise relative to other teams- It comes from winning so much (easily) in the reg season – We afford our players extra rest (extra dl stints) with our amazing depth and not having to worry about the standings for the most part day in day out- Other teams (especially this year) have taken major hits due to over workage; we lost Caleb and that sucks, but thats pretty good compared to other horror stories around the league–
My 2 cents- Youve been an inch away for years and that inch has been a couple outs in the 8th and 9th inns, sign Liam God Damn Hendriks (an Rp capable of going 2 (hell he went 3 inns this postseason) ) next year for whatever he wants- Between him and Grat you should have the last 9 outs in some combination or form come Oct –
I agree. Bullpen is always key in the playoffs, but it’s never more so in this series with no days off and with the Braves most likely putting out three rookie starting pitchers (I assume Wilson goes game four) and the injury to Kershaw.
I rhetorically posted a few days ago asking who is the Dodgers closer. Is it Jansen? Do you trust him? Do you trust the rookie Graterol?
It made sense going with Graterol in that situation. High leverage situation in a game where one more run might be it, you put in your best guy. Maybe they could’ve stuck with Gonzalez for the ninth, but I don’t know much about him to say one way or the other.
You should have them in your radar because in 2 years or so they will be a better team than you
May: 23
Graterol:22
Gonsolin: 26
Urias:24
Buehler:26
Lux:22
Smith:25
Bellinger:25
Seager:26
Kershaw:31
They had a top 3 system going into this year, but graduated/traded 5 top 100 players, Lux, May, Gonsolin, Graterol, Downs … within one year
Dodgers have plenty of long term assets
Yawn- Padres fans absolutely remind me of Clipper fans – Your Xmas is free agency and the trade deadline
Yeah, some pretty classless dodger fans on this site laughed at Lamet and Clevinger going down with injury.
I’m not going to laugh at Kershaw going down. Nor should anyone.
Although, given his history in the NLCS I do question the validity of his injury. This could just be Dodgers saying, ok Clayton let’s have you sit this one out since we down 1-0. Don’t need to be down 2-0..
I don’t recall any Dodgers fans celebrating an injured player, guess I missed it
I hope he’s ok, and it’s just a minor one-day issue.
My immediate reaction was this is good for the Braves. But seeing how’s replacing him. Ehh idk. I’m mean, not having to face one of the generations best pitchers is ultimately a good thing I guess
This might seem bad, and it’s certainly the case if he’s out for long, but Gonsolin was a beast this year.
Righties often don’t fair well against Atlanta though, so loss of HOF lefty could be a problem.
I defer to your wisdom, Brewer88. Gonsolin exited Beast Mode before taking the mound today.
I don’t think Sandy K could get Freddy Freeman out right now. Gonsolin wasn’t as bad as run totals indicate, just couldn’t locate fastball at the right time.. I have to wonder if rusty due to too much rest. Did he even pitch against Padres?
It looks like this may have been Gonsolin’s first appearance ever in the postseason. Yeah, he certainly may have been rusty.
The article mentions this was Gonsolin’s playoff debut. It did not go well.
Really not the place and time to work off the rust. Wonder if he was injured.
This is a huge swing game. If the Braves can take advantage and win tonight, going up 2-0 is obviously a huge advantage. But, if the Dodgers can win tonight without Kershaw and then come back Wednesday or Thursday with him, that’s a huge swing for them.
I think this game is an even more must win for the Braves with the threat of the Dodgers tying it up and the Braves still having to face Kershaw later in the series.
Get this man a new back.
Was only a matter of time before his back gave out. He carried that team to the playoffs on his back so many years.
Dodger fans in defense mode. Another season, again the fav to win it all, yet crumbling again at the end….
This is pretty much an example of the depth that currently separates the Dodgers from the Padres. Being able to replace a top of the rotation arm with Gonsolin as opposed to a “bullpen day” is like night and day.
That said, if Kershaw isn’t back in like 2-3 days they may eventually have to do a bullpen day. I’m assuming Urias goes game 3, but then you’ve got May who pitched 2 innings yesterday so I don’t think he can give them real length in game 4. Other option is they throw Wood game 4? No off days makes it pretty complicated.
Yes but I think they also were counting on Gonsolin for long relief and starting him now really cuts into an advantage the Dodgers may have had with pitching depth, especially Oct 14-16
@Brewer88 Thats true to a certain extent, but if he can give them some bulk innings tonight it will take the pressure off the pen.
Even if Gonsolin himself might not be able to go in long relief Oct 14-16, if he’s able to preserve other arms then it might accomplish the same thing. If he doesn’t eat many innings and then burns himself as a reliever in the process, then I agree with you, it just wears down the Dodgers bullpen depth
Kershaw is throwing in the bullpen right now. He’s likely starting tomorrow instead of today.
Roberts clearly stated that Kershaw would NOT be starting game 3
Either way the Braves would have to face a very competent hurler.
Yeah, that’s the thing, the Dodgers aren’t short on SP. They’d have to lose about 3 great starters to be in real trouble.
End of the day though I’d rather see Kershaw pitch. If the Braves are going to be the best, go through the best. Injuries suck. I don’t want to see the constant well the Braves beat LA without so-and-so, or on the flip side see them caught off guard by some guy they haven’t seen. I want best vs. best.
Man what a blow to the Dodgers. The Braves lost Duvall last night. I hate to see either player go down.
This is going to be a GREAT series. I hope neither injury affects either team too much. Kershaw is one of this generations best pitchers.
Well said! Two great teams and I agree that we hate to see injuries to either side.
It’s a well-known fact that choking causes back problems.
I’d stop doing what you do to your man every night then, you’re gonna be hunched over in a wheelchair soon
Oh how I love how the media always spins this as “back spasms” or “back tightness”. As if they have completely forgot the Kershaw was diagnosed with a herniated disc in his back all the way back in 2016.
He doesn’t have a tight back, he’s not dealing with spasms, or muscle issues, he’s dealing with a spinal injury to a disc that can ONLY be fixed with surgery. Until then, he will continue to have flare ups of pain, that sure can be managed with medication and therapy, but will never go away until he goes under the knife.
Just ask Peyton Manning.
Different injuries. Peyton got hurt because his body couldn’t supported his massive head.
Yeah, it’s so filled with intelligence and knowledge, it must weigh a ton.
And now he’s in a band with Brad Paisley.
Bwahahaha…. Look at the doofus doing a medical diagnosis based on NO PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE. And by the way, there are non-surgical treatments for herniated discs. Try not to talk so much, is seriously exposes your complete lack of pertinent information.
Why did we let Maeda and Hill go? I know Ryu wanted a long term deal. Al so o Maeda wanted to be a starter why not let him do that
Maeda and his agent, IMO, forced the Dodgers hand because they kept manipulating his starts and innings to keep his bonuses from kicking in.
Even still, when the trade happened I thought it was going to come back and bite the Dodgers in the ass.
It wasn’t bonus manipulation issue, it was a too many arms and not enough starts to go around issue. Plus, a bullpen that was better with Maeda in it.
I do think there was some bonus manipulation involved. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, sort of.
Well we did get possibly the best young Rp in the game at a fraction of the cost with twice as many controlled years left, so theres that?!?
I think it was because they wanted RP help and were using Maeda as a reliever when he has more value as a starter. Made sense to move from a surplus to address a need.
So they went and traded him for a RP in Graterol, in essence turning Maeda into the cost controlled prime of a reliever and getting the RP innings they wanted from Maeda from Graterol instead.
It had to do with them moving him to the bullpen every September, but him holding bonuses based on starts and innings pitched. La moved him, 3 straight years in Sept
17. GS: 25. IP: 134.1. Bullpen move ~Sept 21
18: 20, 125.1. Aug 14
19: 26, 153.2. Sept 2
Innings Pitched Bonus
$250,000 each for(Starting where relevant): 130, 140, 150, 160, 170, 180, 190, 200
Games Started Bonus
$1.5M each for 25, 30, 32
18 sticks out hard as a year they messed with his earning. Agent complained that year And I believe after 19, so that’s why they were looking to trade him
Yes. There was a reasonable baseball excuse behind the moves, postseason prep. But I agree with others there was some level of earning manipulation done
With Hill, remember David Price was acquired at the same AAV Hill made in his last 3 years. So LA planned to replace Hill with price. Covid ruined those plans, but there was a contingency originally put in place
I like the fact that not bringing them back opened up opportunities for their young guns (May, Urias, Gonsolin.) I think if those guys stay healthy we will have a brighter future in our rotation
With LA’s payroll, the future must always be now
My braves gear still hasn’t come in the mail.
They have another gear? Right now they seem to be in cruise-control
Tough break, he’s by far my favorite Dodger. And as Dodger fans told the Padre fans who lost Clevenger and Lamet, injuries happen, no excuses, good teams overcome.
That’s why we have a 40 man (60 man in Covid season) roster. Next man up has to get the job done! Dodger fan here not making any excuses
Historically, and including the last WS with the Nationals, there’s no replacing aces and HOFers on a roster especially deep into the playoffs. The Padres had a valid excuse. Maybe I’m wrong, but I have to believe it would not be 6-0 Braves right now if Kershaw instead of young Gonsolin, was in the game.
Old guys get hurt trying too hard to beat guys like Tatis Jr.
They don’t need to beat Tatis – he’s already sitting at home. Or fishing.
Kershaw is doing his “day before a start” routine right now. He’s pitching tomorrow instead of today. I’m guessing the treatment for spasms disrupted his “day of a start” routine enough to push it back to Game 3.
So much for that theory. Roberts said he’s not pitching tomorrow either.
Hopefully Game 4 then. I was going off the reports that he was doing his dry work today, which he does the day before starting, along with the earlier reports that G3 was still in play.
Next man up. Dodgers 40 man roster may be the deepest in baseball. Gonsolin is a solid SP with a bright future.
Though I suspect he will have a short leash, I will be surprised if Gonsolin does not give the Dodgers a chance to win.
Being delayed to Game 3 is still significant. It means he’s likely not to pitch Game 7 had it come to that.
Indeed, its a hit no doubt
At least Dodger fans won’t have to worry about Roberts leaving him one batter too many…
No big deal. Gonsolin has been a great asset and I expect the Braves to be at somewhat of a disadvantage not having much exposure to him. The real question is whether or not the Dodger bats show up for the game. Need better than all the swing-for-the-fences AB’s they brought last night.
Gonsolin has been good, but with a small sample size. Less than 87 innings between his last 2 years and he hasn’t pitched in over 2 weeks nor has he pitched in the post season. He had simulation games but those are not the same as real games or real playoff games. As good as stuff Buehler has he has not taken a step forward on command this year. Quite frankly he lacks command. I’m not talking about pure walks. I’m talking about being wild in the strike zone (down the middle or too much plate) and big misses. How many times does he get ahead only to throw a couple of pitches that nobody will swing at. Spiked sliders/curveballs. I don’t have a problem with him not giving in to batters, but you have to have smaller misses to get batters to chase two strike pitches. He also looks rattled or frustrated at times. I hope he can take that step next season.
Try pitching with blisters and see if it affects your control. Ive NEVER seen Beuhler look rattled, but definitely frustrated. As far as Gonsolin, I believe he will be fine. It’s all about run support. If you dont score, it really doesnt matter how good your pitching is.
Blisters may be a factor but we’ve seen this from Buehler before this season. He was more consistent last season but he’s had similar games where he just lacks command. All pitchers have off games but it’s a lack of consistency thing. The too much plate and big misses annoy the heck out of me. It happens way too much with Buehler. Also what drives his pitch counts up so quickly. It’s part of the evolution of being a thrower with good stuff versus a pitcher. When you’re a thrower your stuff bails you out even with mistakes but that’s not sustainable as you also get hammered when the offense puts good ABs. We saw the same with Kershaw in his earlier days. I was hoping for Buehler to take that step this year. I don’t think you can just shrug it off and say it’s blisters. I’m sure this is something Prior has discussed with Buehler.
Do remember, buehler was pretty open in ST 2.0, he didn’t think season was going to happen, and he hadn’t been throwing at home during the off-season or summer shut down. So he has been behind physically all year. Then the blister got bad enough to IL Aug 21. That’s when he hit the IL, not necessarily when he got the blister though
If you look at his numbers, he was way better in his 3 sept starts vs the other 5. While he was down with the blister, I think he got a chance to build up his legs and arm strength, closer to regular season levels.
Between the lack of control and lack of curveballs from Buehler In G1, I fear his finger is getting worse not better
Off-topic but how many Dodger fans are tired of train-wreck Treinen melting down? He was effective earlier in the season but he has been very shaky towards the end of season and playoffs. I’m not sure you can trust him. Sometimes he’s lights out sometimes he completely melts down, and many times in between where he allows a lot of traffic but gets out of it. Similar lack of control issues as some of the other Dodger pitchers. He has great power stuff that moves but like any pitcher if you can’t locate you’re not going to get it done on a consistent basis. Most good MLB hitters can hit velocity/movement if it’s in bad locations, up in the zone.
Jansen and Dave’s use of him is the only train-wreck I’m worried about. If Dave must use him, make sure he doesnt have to get more than 2 outs and under NO circumstances should he be allowed to pitch to more than the 3 required batters.
Treinen just isn’t missing bats, which is why I wouldn’t want him closing. But he has been very good this year.
Seems/feels like his sinker is moving less, or his command is worse than it was early in the year
For ex, the Riley HR. That pitch was supposed to be at his shins and it was thigh high, middle middle. I remember from Derek Lowe days, sinker ballers can lose that sink if back is hurting. Wonder if maybe something is up with Treinen, not bad enough to IL him but maybe causing him to cut his delivery short?
He’s a fantastic arm so I’d love to trust him. But yeah the last few weeks have been rough
Aqualung was awesome but SP for Braves in NLCS has to be just as
READ: L5 / S1, get a Mueller back brace and wear it tight and low, I don’t want to see you in the WS against the Rays; however, I know the pain well…