ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw was placed on the 15-day disabled list Saturday for the first time in his seven-year career because of a swollen muscle in his left upper back. The 26-year-old left-hander, coming off his second Cy Young Award in three years, already had been scratched from his scheduled start in San Diego on Sunday after an MRI revealed the problem. Kershaw was on a throwing progression program and was tossing the ball at different distances Saturday before the teams Freeway Series finale against the Angels when he experienced some discomfort on his 27th throw. "He felt it, and that was the last straw," manager Don Mattingly said. "So at that point, we knew we couldnt have gone any farther and that it was a DL situation. Its a situation -- not just for me, but for everyone -- that weve got to save Clayton from Clayton at this point and be cautious. We cant allow him to try to keep pushing and go forward. If it was up to him, Im sure hed want to go farther. But we cant allow him to do that right now." Kershaw, who signed a $215 million, seven-year contract on Jan. 15, won the Dodgers season opener 3-1 against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Australia last weekend. The three-time All-Star was hoping to get back in the rotation for Fridays home opener against San Francisco, but instead it will be Hyun-Jin Ryu, who also will get the assignment Sunday at San Diego against Andrew Cashner. Ryu started and won the second game of the Australia trip, but tore a toenail while running the bases that day and wasnt sure hed be able to fill in for Kershaw until after his side session Friday. "I think that once Clayton felt something, he knew that he wasnt going to make his start on Friday," Mattingly said. "With his throwing progression, the fact that he stopped right away is all weve asked of him from the beginning: If you feel it at all, youve got to stop. And he stopped right away." Kershaw has made 33 starts, struck out at least 229 batters and logged 227 2/3 innings or more in each of the last three seasons -- including a career-high 236 innings last year, when he finished 16-9 with an NL-best 232 strikeouts and a 1.83 ERA. Kershaw led the majors in ERA for the third straight year, becoming the first pitcher to accomplish that feat since newly elected Hall of Famer Greg Maddux did it from 1993-95. Now that Kershaws run at a fourth straight ERA title has been adjourned for the time being, Mattingly wasnt making any predictions on when he will return to the rotation. The Dodgers have five off days scheduled between now and April 15. "This is not something that we say, OK, we think hell be ready by this date -- and if he doesnt get there, then its like, Oh, Claytons had a setback," Mattingly said. "We should just let it do what its supposed to do and let the medical staff do their work let them tell us what he could do. "And because of all the days off we have and the schedule we have, its really not worth pushing him." Bill Russell Jersey .ca. Hi Kerry, Welcome back! Im sure you heard Peter Forsbergs comments last week regarding Canadian referees in the gold medal game. Seems to me that he was questioning the integrity and impartiality. Al Horford Jersey . The star receiver certainly isnt celebrating it with the Texans mired in a franchise-record 13-game skid. http://www.celticssale.com/kids-walter-b...ltics-jersey/.Y. - Major League Soccer is prepared to start its season this weekend even if there isnt a labour deal with its referees and other on-field officials. Boston Celtics Jerseys . Spains victory rendered Frances 3-0 win against Finland meaningless as Spain needed just one point to secure passage to Brazil. Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema scored either side of Joona Toivios own-goal as France advanced to the playoff among the eight best second-place finishers. John Havlicek Jersey . Bale has had a successful debut season in Spain, and Ancelotti appears ready to reward him with a starting role on Saturday. Ancelotti says "Gareth had some problems at the beginning (of the season) but when he found good physical condition he scored a lot of goals, he had a good impact on the team.The Toronto Raptors have dropped two straight and will try to get back on track Wednesday night when they visit the Smoothie King Center to take on the New Orleans Pelicans. The Raptors fell at home to the Phoenix Suns and lost on the road to the Atlanta Hawks during this mini swoon. Torontos lead in the Atlantic Division is just 2 1/2 games over the Brooklyn Nets and the Raptors advantage over the Chicago Bulls for the third seed in the Eastern Conference is down to a half- game. On Tuesday, the Raptors fell in overtime to the Hawks at Philips Arena, 118-113. DeMar DeRozan paced Toronto with 29 points to go along with 10 rebounds and Kyle Lowry contributed 20 points, nine assists and seven rebounds in the loss, their second straight on the road. Jonas Valanciunas, who will miss Wednesdays contest with a back injury, scored 16 points, while Amir Johnson and Terrence Ross each chipped in with 11 points for Toronto. Toronto had the ball with under 20 ticks to play in the extra session and trailed by two when Johnson turned the ball over after an offensive foul. Atlanta sealed it at the free throw line to continue its late season surge to maintain its playoff position. "(In the overtime) we got stops but you got to able to score," said Toronto coach Dwane Casey. "I thought DeMar (DeRozan) did a good job of playing out of tthe double-team they were committed to, had some open looks, but again, you got to knock those down, you got to make those plays and we had trouble doing that.dddddddddddd" The Pelicans halted a two-game slide last time out, a 121-120 overtime victory Sunday night over the Boston Celtics. That pushed New Orleans to 3-2 on this six-game homestand, which comes to an end Wednesday night. Anthony Davis posted 40 points and 21 rebounds to carry the Pelicans. Davis surpassed his career-highs in points and rebounds while also becoming the first player in Pelican history to record a 40-point/20-rebound game. "Im just trying to stay locked in. Every game, coach talks about being great. Anthony Morrow tells me, Be great every game. I just go out there and do the things for us to win. As long as we get the win, thats all that matters to me," said Davis. Tyreke Evans scored 26 and Eric Gordon added 19 points and eight assists for the Pelicans. Evans scored five of his 26 in the extra session to help New Orleans to victory. The Pelicans visit the Hawks on Friday, then play four in a row in the Big Easy. The Raptors have won five straight against the Pelicans, including this seasons only matchup, a seven-point win at the Air Canada Centre on Feb. 10. Toronto is 5-2 in its last seven meetings as the visitor in this series. 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