Clayton Kershaw tossed 59 pitches over four innings of a minor league rehab start today, and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya) that Kershaw will be activated from the 15-day injured list for his next outing. This would put Kershaw in line to start against the Giants next weekend, as the two NL West rivals clash in a big series.
Kershaw was placed on the IL on May 13 due to right SI joint inflammation, and while the injury wasn’t considered to be a big problem, any absence is cause for concern given both Kershaw’s lengthy injury history and his importance to the L.A. rotation. Now in his 15th season, the future Hall-of-Famer is still in fine form, with a 1.80 ERA, 29.4% strikeout rate, and a tiny 2.8% walk rate over his first 30 innings of the 2022 campaign.
More from the NL West…
- While the Diamondbacks have a modest 26-29 record, that is still a vast improvement from their 77-145 mark in 2020-21, and it has led to some renewed belief in manager Torey Lovullo. “Some front office officials have urged ownership to give [Lovullo] an extension,” USA Today’s Bob Nightengale writes, but ownership is holding off for the time being. The skipper is already under control beyond this season, as the extension signed last September guaranteed Lovullo’s deal for the 2022 season and added a club option for 2023, so the D’Backs technically don’t need to act with immediate urgency in locking Lovullo up. This is Lovullo’s sixth season with Arizona, with an overall 363-400 record and one postseason appearance on his resume, plus NL Manager Of The Year honors in 2017.
- Ezequiel Tovar is showing why the Rockies consider him their shortstop of the future, as the 20-year-old is hitting .317/.398/.581 with 11 homers and 16 steals (in 17 chances) over 211 plate appearances at Double-A Hartford. This offensive surge is very promising, as consistent hitting was considered the last piece of the puzzle for a player who is already considered a superb defender. As The Denver Post’s Patrick Saunders notes, there is precedent for the Rox moving fast with promising shortstops, as Trevor Story played only 61 games at Triple-A and Troy Tulowitzki skipped Triple-A entirely prior to his big league debut. Given that Tovar missed a full year of game development due to the canceled 2020 minor league season, the Rockies may not be quite as aggressive with a promotion this time around, but Tovar is certainly drawing attention. Baseball America bumped Tovar all way up to the #26 position on their midseason ranking of the game’s top 100 prospects.
Saw Tovar play twice about a month ago. That kid is an absolute star. Actions at short as smooth as butter, and the ball just explodes off his bat. Let’s hope the Rockies don’t ruin him. He probably should be top ten overall.
Saw people saw he is hitting into good luck and isn’t that good. I guess we will find out.
I saw the movie Saw where they saw people up. Have you seen Saw?
I saw Saw.
Did you see Saw by the sea shore?
No, but Shelly saw saw by the sea shore shooting stars so she could sing songs on the shoreline.
I seen saw ⚾️
I saw what you did there
Holly hell, I read this whole thread…what am I doing?
Kershaw must be in top form to go out and pitch 59 innings today.
He’s a tough Texan ⚾️
59 pitches….lol. Hey, it is late.
He threw 63 innings in the start. I think he may be ready for either a call-up or TJS.
No it was only 59 innings in the one start. If he was really feeling no discomfort he’d have gone the 63.
I like Lovullo and think he’s a very good manager, but I do agree that management should take some time before making a decision about extending his contract. Right or wrong, his fate is in the hands of a very young team. Lovullo and management stood by this young core when many thought it would be better to do a fire sale and start from scratch. If the Dbacks finish anywhere near .500 and on the fringe of a playoff berth, then I think he should be extended. If not, I still think the Dbacks should pick up his option and see how close the team can get to being competitive for a post-season berth in 2023.
Seriously doubt employees are walking into the owners office and saying “give the manager an extension!”
Dbacks are finally seeing fruit from their minor league system , Lovullo is a very calm manager with the talent he has. They should keep him another 3 or 4 seasons and see what all the kids can do. The organization needs to stop signing washed up pitching ( MadBum ) and develop their own . They are building like the Braves did , it will work in time.
59 innings over four innings…. and you’re asking us to get a paid subscription???
Where do I sign up for your course on “How to be perfect”?
Or we can make excuses like yours and disregard what a hired editor actually does. If you want to sell subscriptions and be considered a service, the effort needs to go into it as well.
You always in a hurry to correct people? Charming, JAJ. Certain folks love to pounce on simple typos on this site. Whatever gets you through, I suppose.
Wow! I would suggest some of you forego the paid subscription and pay for an anger management class. It was a typo. Good Lord!
Lol the people with paid subscriptions sure got their panties in a bunch over your comment
Lovullo has a lot of experience with young players from previous stops making him a great fit for the D-backs the next couple of years. Hazen showed great restraint bringing Lovullo back after last season. It’s time for Lovullo to reward Hazen for that trust.
Kershaw coming back at a good time. Walker Buehler might need a rest, velocity and spin rates have been down and his 4 seamer is getting crushed. He throws it high in the zone and needs that rise. His sinker, that he barely throws, has been his 2nd worse pitch. He doesn’t throw the slider to same side hitters or his curve to opposite handed hitters so when his fastball is off it limits his options. Tyler Anderson and Gonsolin have been the best pitchers on that staff this year.
Gonsolin is one of the best pitchers in the majors so far
Strange that he throws he doesn’t throw his curve against lefties and throws his slider only against lefties. You’d think it’s the opposite for most pitchers. Anderson and Gonsolin have been the best but it’s still a very small sample size. Shocking that they both have been the best. Historically, Gonsolin has had to nibble off the plate so that he won’t get hammered which created a lot of traffic but he managed to dodge big innings. So far he’s been keeping runners off the base and not getting hammered. And since he’s had more command and lower pitch counts, he’s gone deeper into games. A very pleasant surprise.
Clayton Kershaw tossed 59 innings over four innings of a minor league rehab start today
This shows how good Kershaw is, he got 177 outs in 4 innings. I bet he did it in less than 100 pitches too
When pundits describe “the game within the game”, we now know what they mean.
This shows how good Kershaw is, he got 177 outs in 4 innings.
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Sadly enough, those 177 outs still would not have saved my rotisserie team.
“Clayton Kershaw tossed 59 innings..”
Proofreading is free guys
Kershaw is the greatest pitcher ever! He packed 59 innings worth of work into 4 innings somehow. Wild!
Check the first sentence MLBTR
Lovallo should be let go he talks a good game but he sucks!
I could be wrong, but aren’t you a Friar Fan like me, Larry? And if you and I want him fired… isn’t he then deemed “good” for the D-Backs? He’s perfect there, kinda like a Bud Black Jr. in a way.
If Angel Hernandez is an umpire, I can’t take MLB seriously
Please explain how Clayton Kershaw threw 59 innings in a 4 Innings rehab Start because I’m thinking that would be a miracle to throw 59 Innings in a 4 inning rehab start
Sorry we’re all out of beer.
He was getting crushed but the manager let it ride until he pitched 59 innings worth in only 4 innings!!
Jeez. It was a typo.
Are you all 13 years old? Grow up. Entire thread is about a typo corrected within a couple hours. Big whoop