The Dodgers have an even bigger uphill battle heading into Game 2 after falling apart late to Atlanta last night in the NLCS opener.
Ahead of his start on Tuesday, the Dodgers announced that ace Clayton Kershaw would be scratched from his start due to back spasms while rookie Tony Gonsolin will get the start in his stead.
ESPN:
Clayton Kershaw has been scratched from his Game 2 start in the National League Championship Series because of back spasms, the Los Angeles Dodgers announced Tuesday morning, about six hours before the first pitch from Globe Life Field.
Tony Gonsolin, a rookie, will start in Kershaw’s place.
Kershaw, 32, experienced something of a career renaissance this season, displaying a deeper slider and a firmer fastball while posting a 2.16 ERA, a 0.84 WHIP and a 7.75 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 58⅓ innings. The Dodgers were especially counting on him after losing Game 1 of a best-of-seven series to the Atlanta Braves on Monday night.
The last time Kershaw dealt with back issues this season was all the way back on opening day when he was scratched from that start as a result. Obviously, the Dodgers are hoping this isn’t some current chronic issue and haven’t made any mention of his status for the rest of the NLCS. For Gonsolin, the rookie has been mentioned for ROTY honors posting a 2.31 ERA, a 0.84 WHIP, and a 6.57 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 46⅔ innings. However, this is undoubtedly the biggest start of his career as LA looks to avoid slipping into a 0-2 hole against arguably the best team in the National League outside of themselves.
