Clayton Kershaw placed on DL
— -- Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw received an epidural shot in his lower back and will go on the 15-day disabled list, manager Dave Roberts said Thursday.
Kershaw had his second-worst outing of the season Sunday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates, giving up four runs on nine hits. A day later, as the Dodgers finished a four-game series in Pittsburgh, he was being examined in Los Angeles for what was then labeled as minor back discomfort.
"I think that he understands that's the best course of action," Roberts said of placing Kershaw on the DL. "He's been our most valuable player. And when you lose a player to the disabled list like Clayton that you have counted on every fifth day for a start -- obviously that's out of all of our control.
"I know Clayton is very disappointed. But it's up to us to pick him up."
Kershaw was scheduled to start Friday against the Colorado Rockies, and Roberts said the team has not decided who will take his spot.
Roberts told ESPN.com on Monday that the back problem had been an "off-and-on issue" for Kershaw.
Kershaw, who has made at least 30 starts in six of the past seven seasons, is in the midst of one of the best seasons ever by a pitcher. Even with the loss to the Pirates on Sunday, he is 11-2 with a National League-leading 1.79 ERA. He also leads the NL with 121 innings, 145 strikeouts, a 0.727 WHIP and 0.7 walks per nine innings.
Kershaw's 16.11 strikeout-to-walk ratio, which had been as high as 20-to-1 earlier this month, would crush the major league record of 11.63 set by the Minnesota Twins' Phil Hughes in 2014.
The Dodgers are 14-2 when Kershaw pitches this season and 29-35 when he does not.
ESPN staff writer Doug Padilla contributed to this report.
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