Cy Young Award candidates Clayton Kershaw and Stephen Strasburg both suffer back issues. For Kershaw:

Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw is scheduled to leave the team’s current road trip and return to Los Angeles on Tuesday night or Wednesday morning in order to have his lower back stiffness further examined.

Strasburg is already on the disabled list, and his MRI results were encouraging:

The Nationals say an MRI that Stephen Strasburg underwent Monday morning has confirmed their diagnosis that he has an upper-back strain.

Strasburg, 27, threw a bullpen session Tuesday afternoon before Washington was set to play the New York Mets. He was scratched from his last two starts because of the back injury and was placed on the disabled list Sunday retroactive to June 16.

Manager Dusty Baker said the MRI made him feel better and that he prayed and knew Strasburg was going to be all right.

Kershaw owns a huge lead in the Tom Tango Cy Young Tracker points race, so if he goes on the disabled list, it might give some other pitchers a chance to close the gap.