The Los Angeles Dodgers have seen their season go from promising to disappointing rather quickly, and now things are about to get worse.

 

UPDATE: Saturday, Sept. 15 at 7:30 p.m. ET by Ian Hanford

2011 National League Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw will seek another opinion regarding his injured hip, according to the Los Angeles Dodgers official Twitter feed:

This is bad news for a Dodgers team that has lost seven of their last 10 games. Kershaw’s injury leaves them without an ace and makes their bid for an NL wild card spot more difficult.

Stay tuned for more information.

 

—End of Update—

 

UPDATE: Saturday, Sept. 15 at 6:09 p.m. ET by Richard Langford

Clayton Kershaw is reportedly not going to make his next start. 

The LA Times’ Dylan Hernandez passed along the news. 

This is obviously a big blow for the Dodgers, but at least the news is only attached to one start. It certainly could be worse, and it still might be. Hernandez also added this: 

So it looks like the ol’ wait-and-see approach—mixed in, of course, with a whole lot of hoping for a speedy recovery. 

—End of update—

Ken Gurnick of MLB.com is reporting that Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw could miss his next start on Sunday, thanks to a pain in his right hip, an injury that got worse after his last start against the Arizona Diamondbacks:

In the aftermath, his hip was inflamed enough that he scrubbed a scheduled Thursday bullpen session. On Friday, he tried to play catch with trainer Sue Falsone watching, but shut down after a couple tosses and retreated to the trainer’s room. He missed batting practice for the starting pitchers and didn’t shag in the outfield.

The injury first hit Kershaw earlier in the week, and his scheduled start against the San Francisco Giants on Sunday had to be pushed back as a result.

But now, it appears to be a lingering injury for the 24-year-old, a fact that is scary for Los Angeles, to say the least.

Kershaw is by far the team’s best pitcher, posting a 12-9 record with an ERA of 2.70. His ERA is good for third in Major League Baseball, and he is also the team leader in wins and strikeouts.

The Dodgers already have a boatload of issues to deal with, including falling out of contention in the National League West, entering Friday 7.5 games behind the San Francisco Giants.

However, Los Angeles is still very much in the hunt for the NL wild card, as the Dodgers sat just two games back of a playoff spot when the sun rose on Friday. Still, their current playoff positioning is a far cry from where fans thought they would be after making a blockbuster deal with the Boston Red Sox.

Beyond Kershaw, the Dodgers don’t have much to work with in their rotation. Sure, they are solid up and down, but nobody can make the kind of impact and give the team consistency that Kershaw does every fifth day.

Kershaw missing one crucial start during the month of September could be the difference in the Dodgers missing or making the playoffs. But, if Kershaw is out for an extended period of time or is ineffective while potentially playing hurt, that could very well spell the end of the Dodgers’ season.

Check this article periodically for all the latest updates on the Dodgers’ ace.

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