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Kershaw sent for tests on back; Matz has bone spur

Justin Berl / Getty Images Sport / Getty

MILWAUKEE - Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw is returning to Los Angeles for tests on a sore lower back that's been bothering him for weeks.

Manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday that he was still hopeful Kershaw could make his next scheduled start Friday night at Dodger Stadium against Colorado.

The three-time NL Cy Young winner is 11-2 with a 1.79 ERA this season. He lost his last start on Sunday in Pittsburgh, giving up four runs and nine hits in six innings. Roberts said Kershaw has been dealing on and off with a problem in his lower back for a few weeks.

''He's not any better, so what we're going to do, we decided to fly him back,'' Roberts said. ''Try to get him on a flight tonight or tomorrow first thing in the morning. He's not pitching here in Milwaukee, so as we looked at his Friday start, to give him a couple days back home makes sense.''

Kershaw has been on the disabled list only once in his nine-year career, in early 2014 with a shoulder strain.

Here's what else is happening all around the majors today:

PITCHING THROUGH PAIN

Steven Matz had his scheduled start pushed to Thursday to get extra rest after being diagnosed with a bone spur in his pitching elbow. The young Mets lefty will continue pitching through the bone spur because doctors have assured the team he cannot do damage to it. ''He's going to have to deal with it because it's not going away,'' manager Terry Collins said Tuesday. Matz had Tommy John surgery on his left elbow in 2009 shortly after being drafted.

WORKING HARD

The Indians go for their 12th straight win and Danny Salazar (9-3, 2.40) takes a five-game winning streak into a game at Atlanta. Cleveland's streak is its longest in 34 years and two shy of tying the franchise mark, and now it's in the hands of Salazar, who has been dominant, but not necessarily efficient. He is second in the AL in ERA behind Boston's Steven Wright, but he has also thrown the second-most pitches per plate appearance in the league with 4.17.

ROLLING IN ST. LOUIS

Cardinals right-hander Carlos Martinez (7-5, 3.02) tries to keep up a dominant stretch when St. Louis hosts Kansas City. Martinez is 3-0 with a 1.24 ERA over his past five starts, though he most recently got a no decision after seven strong innings in a 4-3 loss to Seattle. The Royals counter with Edinson Volquez (7-7, 5.15).

FAST TRACK

Right-hander Brock Stewart makes his major league debut for the Dodgers against Milwaukee after opening this season with Class A Rancho Cucamonga. The 2014 sixth-round pick rocketed to the majors with a 1.47 ERA in 14 starts between Class A, Double-A and Triple-A this season. Stewart was an infielder at Illinois State who rarely pitched before being drafted, but he needed just 221 1/3 minor league innings before getting the call. His quick transition to the mound may have been helped by the fact that his dad, Jeff, is a scout with the Rays.

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