SAN DIEGO – Clayton Kershaw has thrown too many bullpen sessions to get excited about one – even if it’s the last box to be checked before he can return to the rotation.
“I did it,” Kershaw said with a wry smile after throwing in the bullpen at Petco Park before Sunday’s game. “I’ll be ready for whatever is next.”
Coming off the Injured List and rejoining the rotation is next. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts acknowledged the plan is for Kershaw to make his first start since June 27 “some time in the middle of the week.”
“We’ve got to figure out this rotation for Arizona, for Colorado and talk through it,” Roberts said. “But now I feel good in saying for him to make a start this week is most likely going to happen.”
Right-hander Tony Gonsolin is scheduled to start the series finale in San Diego on Monday with left-hander Julio Urias and rookie right-hander Bobby Miller on line to start the two-game series in Arizona Tuesday and Wednesday.
Kershaw could start one of those days, pushing Urias and/or Miller back a day. But he doesn’t have the most encouraging history at Chase Field – an 8-11 record and 3.91 ERA in 22 career starts there. It is one of just two stadiums where Kershaw has a losing record (Busch Stadium is the other). The Dodgers could wait for the friendly confines of Dodger Stadium to start Kershaw on Thursday.
Kershaw has insisted for some time that his shoulder feels fine and he could pitch through whatever Dr. Neal ElAttrache detected in an MRI right before the All-Star break (Kershaw won’t talk in specifics about what was found). But the midseason break has become a standard part of Kershaw’s seasons now. He has not made more than 22 starts in a season since 2019, a total that he might surpass narrowly this season.
“I don’t think he’d want to hear that,” Roberts said of Kershaw who made 16 starts before going on the IL. “He works extremely hard to take down every start. But it just hasn’t played out that way in the last few years.
“For me, when he’s healthy, he’s as good as anyone. At different times, different years, different things have kind of put him on the IL, just truthfully. I know he’s frustrated with it, because some of the things are out of his power. But I really don’t know what to say. When he’s healthy, I love having him out there.”
Looming over every Kershaw start will be the question of how much longer the Dodgers will have him out there. The 35-year-old future Hall of Famer is on a one-year contract for the second consecutive season and has made it clear continuing his career is a yearly decision at this point. How healthy he proves to be over the next three months will certainly affect that decision.
“I think it’s a big factor. Obviously, No. 1 is health,” Roberts agreed. “I think the performance is the performance, which we’ve come to know and expect. But it’s a big couple months for him and his decision-making, for sure.
“I think right now with where he’s at, all that stuff plays into the potential career stuff. … You never know. So with that, I enjoy all my conversations, watching him pitch. Because the truth is, he can make this decision at any point in time. … I don’t take it for granted.”
MUNCY MENDING
Max Muncy was out of the lineup for the third consecutive day Sunday. Muncy has not played since being hit in the left wrist by a pitch Thursday. But he took batting practice in the cage for the first time since the injury Sunday and could be back in the lineup Monday.
Muncy said he has had multiple examinations to make sure there is not a small fracture in the wrist that might have been undetected. All have come back negative.
“It hit me in a terrible spot,” Muncy said. “It kind of locked up my wrist for two days. Now it’s about pain control.”
ALSO
Right-hander Michael Grove was placed on the Injured List Sunday with tightness in the latissimus muscle behind his right shoulder. Left-hander Bryan Hudson was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City where he 5-0 with a 2.61 ERA and 66 strikeouts in 41 ⅓ innings this year.
UP NEXT
Dodgers (RHP Tony Gonsolin, 6-4, 4.11 ERA) at Padres (RHP Seth Lugol, 4-5, 3.54 ERA), Monday, 1:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, MLB Network, 570 AM