Clayton Kershaw leaves last start of 2021 with left forearm injury



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LOS ANGELES – After giving Kolten Wong an RBI brace in the second set of Friday night’s 8-6 win over the Brewers, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and coaches immediately came to check on Clayton Kershaw. After a lengthy conversation on the mound, Kershaw was taken out of play after throwing just 42 shots with what the team claimed was forearm discomfort. He was replaced by Brusdar Graterol.

Kershaw, who was making his fourth start after missing nearly three months with a left forearm injury, didn’t look good before his exit. The Brewers had taken a 3-1 lead and had five batted balls with an exit speed of 95 mph or more. The pitch before the injury, Kershaw’s speed on a four-seam fastball was 89.1, below his average. It is not known if there was a correlation between Kershaw’s injury and the difficulties he was going through on the mound on Friday.

The severity of the injury is unknown. Kershaw, however, is known to struggle with injuries while on the mound. If Kershaw is forced to miss a moment, that will obviously affect his playoff availability.

Seeing Kershaw leave the mound with the forearm injury was a huge punch to the Dodger Stadium crowd, who responded with a standing ovation. When changing pitcher, the Dodgers position the players gathered on the field in shock.

Kershaw, who is a free agent at the end of the season, took the mound on Friday for his last regular season start. With Kershaw not scheduled to make the National League Wild Card game next Wednesday, it is possible he will make his last regular season start at Dodger Stadium as a member of the Dodgers. Apparently aware of this, Kershaw did not give the ball to Roberts and instead took it with him as he left the mound.

Now the Dodgers are just hoping Kershaw’s injury isn’t serious and won’t hold him back for an extended period.

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