Dodgers sending ace Kershaw home for tests on sore back - MLB

MILWAUKEE — Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw is returning to Los Angeles for tests on a sore back that’s been bothering him for a few 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.

“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.

“He’s going to consult with the docs when he gets back to LA and we’ll see where we go from there,” Roberts said before Tuesday night’s game at Miller Park.

Roberts said he did not know if any examination would include an MRI or CT scan.

“I think that it’s to get him in the doctors’ hands, then they’ll go from there,” Roberts said. “I think that they’re going to do whatever they can to figure out what the problem is.”

“It’s been a few weeks where it’s been in and out and he’s so good, it kind of started barking a little bit, so I think that right now we just want to kind of get some answers,” he said.

Roberts said it was not a hip problem, which Kershaw dealt with last season.

“It’s no hip. I know it’s the back, to the extent of that, I know it’s barking and I just want to see what we’ve got,” he said.

Kershaw did not specifically ask to return to Los Angeles, Roberts said.

“I think it was just more of the training staff and him conferring and having discussions and feeling this was the best thing for Clayton,” he said.

CARSON CITY, Nev. — A bill introduced in the Nevada Legislature would give the Oakland Athletics up to $380 million for a potential 30,000 seat, $1.5 billion retractable roof stadium on the Las Vegas Strip.

The bulk of the public funding would come from $180 million in transferable tax credits from the state and $120 million in county bonds, which can vary based on interest rate returns. Clark County also would contribute $25 million in credit toward infrastructure costs.

The A’s have been looking for a home to replace Oakland Coliseum, where the team has played since arriving from Kansas City for the 1968 season. The team had sought to build a stadium in Fremont, San Jose and finally the Oakland waterfront, all ideas that never materialized.

The plan in the Nevada Legislature won’t directly raise taxes. It can move forward with a simply majority vote in the Senate and Assembly. Lawmakers have a little more than a week to consider the proposal before they adjourn June 5, though it could be voted on if a special session is called.

The Athletics have agreed to use land on the southern end of the Las Vegas Strip, where the Tropicana Las Vegas casino resort sits. Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao has said he is disappointed the team didn’t negotiate with Oakland as a “true partner.”

Las Vegas would be the fourth home for a franchise that started as the Philadelphia Athletics from 1901-54. It would become the smallest TV market in Major League Baseball and the smallest market to be home to three major professional sports franchises.

The team and Las Vegas are hoping to draw from the nearly 40 million tourists who visit the city annually to help fill the stadium. The 30,000-seat capacity would make it the smallest MLB stadium.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said a vote on the Oakland Athletics’ prospective move to Las Vegas could take place when owners meet June 13-15 in New York.

The plan faces an uncertain path in the Nevada Legislature. Democratic leaders said financing bills, including for the A’s, may not go through if Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo vetoes the five budget bills, which he has threatened to do as many of his priorities have stalled or faded in the Democratic-controlled Legislature.

Under the bill, the Clark County Board of Commissioners would create a homelessness prevention and assistance fund along the stadium’s area in coordination with MLB and the Nevada Resort Association. There, they would manage funds for services, including emergency rental and utility assistance, job training, rehabilitation and counseling services for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

The lease agreement with the Las Vegas Stadium Authority would be up for renewal after 30 years.

Nevada’s legislative leadership is reviewing the proposal, Democratic state Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager said in a statement.

“No commitment will be made until we have both evaluated the official proposal and received input from interested parties, including impacted community members,” Yeager said.