LOS ANGELES — Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw has had “a little bit of soreness” coming out of his rehab start on Wednesday which could prompt the the team to postpone his next start, tentatively scheduled for Tuesday with Triple-A Oklahoma City.
“Yeah, there’s a possibility,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Saturday. “I think that given the calendar we just want to make sure he’s good to go. … We’ve been very clear from the get-go. When he’s ready to go, when he’s ready to progress, that’s when it is. I just don’t want to give him hard timelines.”
Kershaw threw 37 pitches over three innings with Class-A Rancho Cucamonga on Wednesday. It was his first game action since shoulder surgery in November.
According to Roberts, Kershaw had some soreness after that start which continued Saturday when he threw a light bullpen session.
“We’ll see what that means going forward,” Roberts said of Kershaw’s second rehab start scheduled for Tuesday in Reno.
“It’s going to be, let’s see how he feels. I think for me, it’s going to be talking to him, talking to the training staff, seeing if he feels good to make it. Catch play tomorrow – if he feels good, great. If it doesn’t, we’ll just keep kicking it down the road until he’s ready. … Making sure he’s right when he gets back, that’s the most important thing.”
ROTATION PLANS
Starting Sunday, the Dodgers have three off days on the schedule in the next eight days. That will allow them to continue giving their starting pitchers extra rest between starts.
James Paxton will start Monday on six days of rest against the Chicago White Sox followed by Bobby Miller on Tuesday (on five days of rest) and Gavin Stone on Wednesday (also on five days of rest).
The Dodgers are off again on Thursday before a three-game weekend series at San Francisco. Tyler Glasnow would be on five days of rest if he started the series opener next Friday or Landon Knack could make another start.
MUNCY STATUS
Max Muncy was moved to the 60-day injured list on Friday. Muncy has been out since May 16 with a strained oblique muscle and won’t be eligible to return until after the All-Star break now.
“That was kind of a paperwork that I guess we had to make. It doesn’t change his time to play really,” Roberts said. “He’s still not swinging the bat. He’s working with the med ball, the rotational stuff. He’s moving, running, throwing, taking grounders. All that stuff is in line. But the big variable is swinging the bat and taking live at-bats.
“I remember when it first happened we were even contemplating not even making it an IL for him. He’s going stir crazy.”
UP NEXT
The Dodgers are off Sunday.
Dodgers (LHP James Paxton, 7-1, 3.65 ERA) at White Sox (LHP Garrett Crochet, 6-6, 3.25 ERA), Monday, 7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, 570 AM
