Dodgers, Diamondbacks face other with sad injury news (May 01, 2018)

PHOENIX -- Somber was the word of the day here Monday.

The Diamondbacks placed left-hander Robbie Ray on the disabled with a Grade 2 right oblique strain suffered in his Sunday start, an expected move. The D-backs did not put a timetable on his return, but he is likely to miss at least a month. Zack Greinke went 39 days between starts with his oblique strain in 2016.

The Dodgers finished an April to forget with even worse news -- shortstop Corey Seager is to undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery on his right elbow Friday in Los Angeles. The injury sidelined Seager late last season and into the playoffs, and he had an MRI on Monday morning after two painful throws in the San Francisco series last weekend.

"As is always the case in these situations, you really feel for the player, but I would think he would say himself he is feeling a little bit of relief that there is some clarity to the condition and dealing with it," Dodgers general manager Farhan Zaidi

"That being said, we still have a season to play so we are going to put our best guys out there and continue to compete."

A.J. Pollock ruined the first game of the rest of the Dodgers' season with his first three-homer game in Arizona's 8-5 victory in the first game of a four-game series at Chase Field.

Clayton Kershaw is to oppose Arizona right-hander Matt Koch on Tuesday as the Dodgers (12-16) attempt to make up ground on the NL West-leading Diamondbacks (20-8), tying the best start in franchise history.

Both teams have had their early trials -- Arizona right fielder Steven Souza has not played after suffering a torn pectoral muscle late in spring training, and 30-homer third baseman Jake Lamb played four games before suffering a shoulder injury against the Dodgers on April 2.

No. 2 hitter Seager joins Dodgers' No. 3 hitter Justin Turner on the disabled list. Turner suffered a fractured wrist when he was hit by a pitch late in spring training and has not begun a rehab assignment. Chris Taylor moved from center field to shortstop Monday and will be the regular there, manager Dave Roberts said, with Enrique Hernandez, Joc Pederson and Matt Kemp divvying up time in center and left.

"It's a big blow," Roberts said of Seager's loss. "It obviously makes it a lot more difficult without one of your best players, but we can do it."

Ray is the second starter the Diamondbacks have lost in April -- Koch is making his third start in place of Taijuan Walker, who underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery last week.

The Diamondbacks have not named a starter to fill Ray's turn Friday, although long reliever T.J. McFarland is a candidate, manager Torey Lovullo said. McFarland pitched four innings as an emergency replacement for Walker on April 14 and he pitched 4 2/3 innings Sunday after Ray was forced out in the second inning.

"Pitching depth is always an extremely important area of the game. It's now next man up," Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said.

Kershaw is 1-1 in two starts against the Diamondbacks this season, both quality starts. He struck out a season-high 12 and gave up only two hits including a bases-empty homer by Paul Goldschmidt in a 7-2 victory at Dodger Stadium on April 15, his most effective outing of the year. He gave up two runs in six innings of a 6-1 loss at Chase Field on April 3.

He walked a season-high six while giving up three runs in five innings of an 8-6 loss to Miami in his most recent start last Thursday, and he gave up season highs in hits (nine) and runs (four) with a season-low four strikeouts in a 5-2 loss to Washington on April 20.

Kershaw was 2-0 against the Diamondbacks last season, giving up only six hits and one run in 15 1/3 innings, and is 15-9 with a 2.51 ERA in 28 career starts against them. He is 5-8 at Chase Field, the only venue in which he has lost at least two more games than he has won.

Koch is 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA in two starts since taking over for Walker. He beat Philadelphia in his last start, giving up six hits and two runs in six innings. He had a no-decision in his first start against San Diego on April 20 despite giving up only one run and two hits in six innings. He has faced the Dodgers once, in a scoreless one-inning relief appearance in 2016.