Clayton Kershaw Scratched Sunday, Will See Hip Specialist

The Dodgers got some bad news on Saturday as their ace Clayton Kershaw will not make his scheduled start on Sunday because of hip pain, the same injury that caused him to have his last start pushed back by two days.

Stephen Fife will start Sunday against the Cardinals, per David Vassegh of KLAC 570.

Kershaw will see a hip specialist in New York on Tuesday, while the Dodgers open a road trip in Washington D.C. against the Nationals. It sounds serious, as noted by Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times:

If there's any possibility of Kershaw further damaging his hip, he won't pitch again. "I promise you that," Mattingly said.

Kershaw got a cortisone shot in his hip when the Dodgers were in San Francisco last weekend, and was scratched from his start last Sunday. But he pitched two days later in Phoenix and gave up just one unearned run in seven innings against the Diamondbacks, and took the loss.

Since the All-Star break Kershaw is 6-4 with a 2.41 ERA in 12 starts, with 87 strikeouts in 86 innings. In his last nine appearances, all quality starts, he has been even better with a 1.76 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 66 1/3 innings.

On the season Kershaw leads the National League in strikeouts (206), WHIP (1.016), and innings (206 2/3), and is second in ERA (2.70).

Starting lineups

With the left-handed Jaime Garcia on the mound, Andre Ethier is back down to batting sixth, with Shane Victorino resuming his spot in the two hole.

Game Time: 6:10 p.m.

TV: Prime Ticket

MLB Gameday