The Los Angeles Dodgers placed lefthander Clayton Kershaw on the injured list, one day after he left a start with lower back pain.
The three-time NL Cy Young Award winner was warming up before the fifth inning of a victory over San Francisco on Thursday when he winced and pointed to the Dodgers’ dugout. He later walked off the field with a trainer.
Kershaw, a nine-time All-Star, is 7-3 with a 2.64 ERA and 88 strikeouts in 85⅓ innings. The 34-year-old was previously on the injured list this season with inflammation in a pelvic joint.
The Dodgers will need to fill Kershaw’s spot in the rotation in the near future. Dustin May, who had Tommy John surgery last year, is trending toward a return soon. May has another rehab start Tuesday in Triple A.
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Also Friday, the Dodgers activated utilityman Chris Taylor, who had missed a month with a fractured left foot. He’s batting .238 with six homers and 27 RBIs in 74 games.
Cincinnati’s Greene sits with shoulder injury
Cincinnati’s depleted pitching staff took another hit when rookie Hunter Greene was placed on the 15-day injured list with a strained right shoulder.
The righty, who turns 23 on Saturday, seemed to be turning the corner in his young career over the last month, posting a 2.70 ERA his last four starts with 29 strikeouts and eight walks over 23⅓ innings.
He turned in a gem his last time out, holding the Marlins to just a hit while striking out eight without walking a batter over six scoreless innings. It was his third start this season striking out at least eight when allowing no more than one hit.
Mancini cracks two homers as Astros roll
Trey Mancini hit two home runs, including his first career grand slam, and drove in five runs, leading the Astros over the Guardians, 9-3, in Cleveland after manager Dusty Baker tested positive for COVID-19 prior to the game.
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Mancini, acquired from Baltimore on Monday to bolster Houston’s already dynamic lineup, hit a solo homer in the second and capped the Astros’ five-run third with a blast that cleared the 19-foot wall in left field. Starting at DH on Friday, he has homered three times in four games with Houston.
Yordan Álvarez drove in his 73rd run of the season — good for third in the American League — with a single in the third inning that gave Houston a 2-1 lead. Jose Altuve had three hits and an RBI.
Framber Valdez (10-4) gave up a solo homer to Amed Rosario in the first. The lefthander held Cleveland in check until the seventh when Luke Maile and Myles Straw drove in runs.
Houston has won seven straight at Progressive Field and has outscored Cleveland in the first two games of this series, 15-3.
Anthony Rizzo pulled from Yankees’ lineup
Anthony Rizzo was a late scratch from the Yankees lineup in St. Louis with lower back tightness, where he had been due to bat third and play first base. Aaron Hicks was plugged into the No. 9 spot, with DJ LeMahieu shifting from second base to first among a slew of positional swaps . . . Star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. will begin a Double-A rehab assignment either Saturday or Sunday, San Diego manager Bob Melvin said. Tatis took batting practice with the Padres at Dodger Stadium on Friday afternoon and then left for Texas. Tatis has been sidelined since having surgery in mid-March on his fractured left wrist, reportedly suffered in an offseason motorcycle accident in his native Dominican Republic. Tatis will play shortstop, center field, and spend time as the designated hitter . . . Willson Contreras hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning, Justin Steele matched a career high with 10 strikeouts, and the Cubs beat the Marlins, 2-1, in Chicago. Contreras and Ian Happ got warm receptions in their first home game since Tuesday’s trade deadline passed with neither All-Star getting dealt, and the Cubs looked like they were on the way to their sixth straight loss before Contreras drove an 0-1 pitch from Dylan Floro (0-1) to left with one out in the eighth for his 16th homer . . . Colorado claimed Dinelson Lamet off waivers. Lamet was part of the package Milwaukee received Monday in the trade that sent four-time All-Star closer Josh Hader to the San Diego Padres. The Brewers announced two days later, due to “roster fit,” that they had designated Lamet for assignment. Lamet went 3-1 with a 2.09 ERA and finished fourth in the NL Cy Young voting during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, but he had an 0-1 with a 9.49 ERA in 13 relief appearances for the Padres this season. The 30-year-old has struggled with injuries . . . Former big league slugger Derek Dietrich, on the roster of the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate, has been suspended for 50 games for testing positive for a stimulant. He last appeared in the majors with Texas in 2020, and was one of five suspensions announced for violations of the minor league drug prevention and treatment program. The other four were on either Summer League or Complex League teams. Thirty-three players have been suspended this year under the minor league drug program, compared with six under the major league program.
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