The Los Angeles Dodgers won a 10-9 nail-biter over the Arizona Diamondbacks Friday night, but it came at a price. Club legend Clayton Kershaw injured his toe on the mound, and it doesn't look good.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts didn't give an encouraging prognosis, via The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya.
“Clayton Kershaw is going on the IL,” Ardaya said. “‘There’s so much swelling, he can barely move around with it,' Dave Roberts said.”
Kershaw exited the game after just 27 pitches. The 36-year-old didn't have his finest outing, as he allowed three runs on three hits in an inning-plus.
Kershaw admitted that the toe swelling threw him off, via MLB.com's Michael Reynolds.
“I just couldn’t really push off,” Kershaw said. “It’s frustrating when everything else seems to be feeling great. No matter what I did, I couldn’t find a comfortable way to push off on my toe. Super frustrating.”
Roberts said that a bone spur caused the swelling, via SportsNet LA.
Dave Roberts says Clayton Kershaw is dealing with a bone spur in his toe.
Catch all the action on #DodgersTV at no extra cost for Spectrum customers with both Internet and mobile services. 🔗: https://t.co/i0HWddfBus pic.twitter.com/526c9eYcHR
— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) August 31, 2024
“It's a bone spur. It's obviously not good. There's swelling, there's pain,” Roberts said. “He's doing everything he can to get through things. Some starts it feels fine and it's not impeding. Today certainly it was. He had no legs today obviously, then you start worrying about how it could affect his arm. There was just no other alternative but to take him out in the second inning after that [Corbin] Carroll at-bat.”
How big of a loss is Kershaw?
The Dodgers could use a healthy Clayton Kershaw

The oft-injured Kershaw has only tossed 30 innings this year, recording a 2-2 record and a 4.50 ERA. The future Hall-of-Famer is now back on the injured list, and Los Angeles may have to prepare to play in the playoffs without him.
Kershaw, who owns a career 2.50 ERA in 432 appearances, could be the piece that puts the Dodgers over the edge in October if he's fully healthy. Unfortunately, though, that's looking like a pipe dream at this point.
However, all is not lost for Los Angeles, as fellow pitcher Brusdar Graterol is on track to return, via Ardaya.
“Dave Roberts said Brusdar Graterol’s live session went well,” he reported. “He will start a rehab assignment with OKC on Tuesday.”
Graterol is one of the Dodgers' most effective relievers, as he has a 2.89 career ERA in 182 outings. The 26-year-old's return could soften the blow of Kershaw's exit.