The NL West-leading Dodgers stayed two games in front of San Francisco, which edged the Cubs 3-2 earlier in the day.
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Before he went to the DL – and even while pitching with a mild herniation of a disk in his lower back – Kershaw might have been having the best season of his career.
“I’ll never get hurt again because it’s bad”, he said. We’ve all anticipated Clayton’s return. He threw 34 pitches, so after exiting the game, he went down to the bullpen to throw some more and get his pitch count up to 50. His curveball is one of the most effective pitches in the game.
Kershaw, who won the National League Cy Young Award in 2011, 2013 and 2014, is 11-2 with a 1.79 earned-run average this season.
Kershaw was in the midst of a potentially historic season when he was injured and no longer qualifies for the league lead in various categories.
By the time Kershaw returns to the mound, he will have missed 2½ months, and even if he pitches deep into his handful of starts before the postseason, he won’t have the 162 innings needed to qualify for the ERA title (he now has 121). “I only know how I feel right now and I feel good right now”.
Kershaw struck out five in his three innings and allowed only an infield single.
“The way that I have used the roster this year, and you saw that (Sunday), guys coming in, in the middle of the game to help us win a baseball game”, Roberts said.
Now the key will be how Kershaw’s body reacts to being back in game competition. He was in the midst of a historic season when he hit the shelf, as he was on his way to another sub-2.00 ERA season, and had struck out an eye-popping 145 batters against only nine walks.
Roberts said the blister on Anderson’s index finger resurfaced during the outing and his status will be re-assessed.
He never lost consciousness, team officials said.
ANGELS: Pitcher Matt Shoemaker left Sunday’s game against the Seattle Mariners after being hit in the head by a line drive off the bat of Kyle Seager.
Solarte hit a two-run homer with two outs in the third.
And left-hander Scott Kazmir is scheduled to pitch the first game of the Triple-A playoffs for Oklahoma City on Wednesday.
Mets 3, Nationals 1: Robert Gsellman (2-1) pitched out of trouble for six innings, and NY moved within one game of St. Louis for the final N.L. playoff berth.
The Padres finished their 9-game road trip with a 3-6 record that includes a sweep at the hands of the Braves, the team with the worst record in Major League Baseball.
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“I’ll never get hurt again”, the Dodgers left-hander and three-time National League Cy Young Award victor said on Sunday. That would be four consecutive rookie starters for the Dodgers.
