Clayton Kershaw will return to Dodgers rotation on Friday
The Los Angeles Dodgers are getting their ace back.
According to Alanna Rizzo of SportsNet Los Angeles, Clayton Kershaw will return to the hill this Friday when the Dodgers visit the Miami Marlins.
Dave Roberts told me @ClaytonKersh22 will pitch for the @Dodgers on Friday against the @Marlins.
— Alanna Rizzo (@alannarizzo) September 4, 2016
The news comes less than 24 hours after Kershaw’s first and only rehab outing. The 28-year-old left-hander pitched for the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, the Dodgers’ Class-A affiliate, and required just 34 pitches to complete three innings against the Modesto Nuts.
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In fact, Kershaw was so efficient, he actually finished his assignment in the bullpen because the Dodgers didn’t want him sitting down and warming up between too many innings.
Kershaw is going to get up to 45 pitches in the bullpen (11 more) and then his night will be complete here in Rancho Cucamonga.
— Jesse Dougherty (@dougherty_jesse) September 4, 2016
Kershaw threw 50 pitches and said he felt good after. How his body reacts tonight, he said, will give the best indication of where he is.
— Jesse Dougherty (@dougherty_jesse) September 4, 2016
According to the Los Angeles Times, Kershaw touched 94 mph with his fastball, but mostly sat 92-93. He finished with five strikeouts and one infield single allowed, which was quickly erased on a double play.
Kershaw's third inning took a troubling five minutes. He set a high bar finishing the first two in three flat. No one's perfect.
— Jesse Dougherty (@dougherty_jesse) September 4, 2016
The key coming off the outing was how Kershaw’s body would react to being back in game competition. Remember, he hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since June 26, so we’re talking about a near 10-week layoff.
“It felt good. I was able to, you know, warm up and sit in between innings, stuff that’s kind of bothered me in the past,” Kershaw said following the game. “It was definitely a good test, kind of pitch in a game-setting again, kind of have a normal game-type situation.”
The early word was encouraging, and apparently Kershaw woke up feeling good too on Sunday morning. He was spotted taking some warm up tosses in the outfield prior to the Dodgers game against the Padres, so it’s all systems go leading into Friday.
With that said, we wouldn’t say Kershaw is completely out of the woods either. Back issues can be tricky to deal with. We’ve seen them flare up with Kershaw a little more frequently too over the past two seasons. Friday will definitely be another big test for him physically, and it will be just as interesting to see how comfortable the Dodgers are extending him deep into outings.
Stay tuned, because a healthy Kershaw down the stretch would be an enormous boost for a Dodgers team that’s done very well to survive during a historic rash of injuries.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!