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Clayton Kershaw will make his first rehab start on Thursday with the Oklahoma City Dodgers after starting the season on the 10-day injured list with shoulder inflammation.
Wanna know a secret? Clayton Kershaw is scheduled to be our Opening Night Starter pic.twitter.com/vZBRTvpHVK
— Oklahoma City Dodgers (@okc_dodgers) April 3, 2019
Kershaw is scheduled to go for four innings (about 60 pitches) against the San Antonio Missions and possibly make an appearance in the bullpen.
Manager Dave Roberts talked to the media on Wednesday, saying Kershaw is likely to make a second start in the minor leagues before joining them in Los Angeles. The details of this second start have not been made clear.
Dave Roberts said he’s leaning toward having Clayton Kershaw make two rehab starts before he joins the Dodgers. The first rehab start will be tomorrow in OKC.
— Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick) April 3, 2019
To give you some context, last Friday before their six-hour game against the Diamondbacks, Roberts said the club will be taking his recovery slowly to think about his future impact on the team.
“We’re going to let Clayton drive [his pace],” Roberts said. “We’re at a point where we understand the long view and we want him healthy, to help us and to help himself ... we’ll kind of see how it goes.”
If all goes well with his rehabilitation, Kershaw may be on the major league roster by mid-April.