Kershaw, deGrom, Molina sidelined with MLB injuries

Kershaw, deGrom, Molina sidelined with MLB injuries
AFP

Los Angeles (AFP) – Los Angeles Dodgers star pitcher Clayton Kershaw, New York Mets hurler Jacob deGrom and St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina were placed on Major League Baseball’s injured list on Sunday.

Kershaw, a three-time Cy Young award winner as National League top pitcher, went onto the 10-day disabled list with biceps tendinitis, the eighth Dodger sidelined. It’s the third season in a row the 30-year-old US left-hander has been on the disabled list, but it was back issues that struck the past two years.

Kershaw was sent home before the team to meet with orthopedic surgeon Neal ElAttrache.

“Certainly not ideal,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Kershaw’s injury. “We’re cautiously optimistic. We want Dr. ElAttrache’s professional opinion. We’re still hopeful.”

Kershaw is 1-4 in seven starts with a 2.86 earned run average while striking out 48 batters and walking only 10.

The Mets decided to retroactively put deGrom on the disabled list after he hyperextended his right elbow on a swing last Wednesday.

An MRI exam showed no structural damage and he tossed a bullpen session without pain, but the team decided to bench him as a cautionary move, pushing back the injury designation to leave the option of using deGrom on his next regular start next Sunday at Philadelphia.

“I felt like I could go,” deGrom said. “But the bigger picture is what we’re looking at. You can skip one, make sure everything’s fine. So after talking to them, I understand the decision.

“If something did happen, we’d be like, ‘Why didn’t I just take one?’”

In seven starts, deGrom is 3-0 with a 1.87 ERA, 54 strikeouts and 11 walks over 43 1/3 innings.

“It just wasn’t worth the risk,” said Mets manager Mickey Callaway.

Molina, 35, has played at least 110 games every season since 2005 but that run is in jeopardy after he was struck in the groin by a batted foul ball Saturday in the Cardinals’ 8-6 victory over the Chicago Cubs.

The Cardinals expect to lose Molina for at least a month after he needed emergency surgery Saturday night for a pelvic injury involving a traumatic hematoma.

A fastball from St. Louis pitcher Jordan Hicks was tipped and struck Molina, squatted behind the plate, between the legs.

“That was a bad one,” manager Mike Matheny said. “He just couldn’t go anywhere. He was trying to get the ability to breathe back. No further explanation for that one.”

Molina was hitting .272 with six home runs and 17 runs batted in.

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.