Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is leaving the team for two days to attend a service that will honor his late mother, Marianne Tombaugh.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts made the announcement after the Dodgers dropped a 10-5 decision to the St. Louis Cardinals Sunday. Kershaw will return to the team when the Dodgers play a 3-game series in Tampa Bay over the weekend. Roberts said Kershaw will make the start for the Dodgers against the Rays on Saturday.

Clayton Kershaw was on the mound Sunday in the loss to the Cardinals. He pitched 3.2 innings in the defeat and gave up 4 earned runs on 5 hits and 3 bases on balls. Kershaw gave up 3 runs in the second inning, with a 2-run double serving as the key hit and coming off the back of Oscar Mercado. The left-handed Dodgers ace saw his record fall to 6-4 with the loss and his ERA jumped to 2.98 after the outing.

The Dodgers dropped 3 of 4 games in the series to the Cardinals, but they are still in first place in the National League West with a 29-19 record. The Dodgers have a 1.5-game lead on the second-place Arizona Diamondbacks.

It was the first series loss for the Dodgers since they dropped 2 of 3 games to the Pittsburgh Pirates in late April.

Prior to playing at Tampa Bay, the Dodgers will meet the National League East-leading Braves in a 3-game series in Atlanta.

Kershaw's mother died May 13, and Roberts believes his pitcher has looked fatigued in each of his last two starts. “He probably doesn’t want to admit it, but sometimes the emotional toll takes a toll on your body too.”