Los Angeles Dodger’s ace Clayton Kershaw was put on the 10-day list of injuries with stiffness in the back and will not make his planned start in Thursday’s opening game against the San Francisco Giants, the team said.
The Dodgers remembered right-handed Dustin May, who will start instead of Kershaw. According to ESPN Stats & Information Research, May will be the first Dodgers rookie to start on the opening day since Fernando Valenzuela in 1981.
Kershaw’s back stiffened in the weight room on Tuesday. The left-hander felt better on Wednesday, but manager Dave Roberts said he “didn’t think it wise to start it”. Roberts said the team was careful, but he didn’t know how long Kershaw would be out.
Kershaw would have made its ninth opening day for the Dodgers. He also missed the opening day last year when he started the season on the injured list with left shoulder inflammation. He was replaced by Hyun-Jin Ryu, who signed with Toronto in December.
Kershaw is 5-1 with an ERA of 1.05 on the opening day.
May was excluded from the 30-man Dodgers list earlier in the day after being selected for the team’s alternative training site earlier this week. Outfielder Terrance Gore was convened in May.
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