Clayton Kershaw returned to the Los Angeles Dodgers rotation on Saturday to make his first start since going on the 10-day injured list on May 13 due to right SI joint inflammation, which pushed Julio Urías back from his scheduled outing.
While building his arm back up, Kershaw threw two bullpen sessions before he joined Single-A Rancho Cucamonga for a rehab assignment. He threw 59 pitches over four innings for the Quakes and didn’t suffer any setbacks in the days that followed.
The future Hall of Famer was initially penciled in to come off the IL for the series finale against the San Francisco Giants. However, the Dodgers ultimately opted to bring him back Saturday instead to give Urías an extra day of rest.
Manager Dave Roberts said both Kershaw and Urías were onboard with the decision to swap their scheduled days in the rotation and doesn’t believe there was any downside to doing so, via SportsNet LA:
“I think it’s more of a combo of not having Clayton take two extra days off, and then we’re in the middle of the season, Julio has made all his starts, so to give him that extra day, the net made a lot of sense. … If you can insert a guy like Clayton and him benefit from being more on a routine with his ‘pen and all that kind of stuff, the rehab start, and then giving a player like Julio an extra day, both players understood and agreed with it. There didn’t seem like any cost.”
In his first game back, Kershaw pitched four innings while throwing 71 pitches. He gave up two runs on three hits, including a home run, while striking out four and walking two.
The left-hander went 4-0 with a 1.80 ERA and 0.73 WHIP over five starts before being placed on the IL in May.
Kershaw’s return also comes at an important time as the Dodgers are due to be without Walker Buehler for an extended period of time because of a right flexor tendon strain.
Urías frustrated by short start against Mets
In his last outing, Urías threw 90 pitches — his second-most this season — but threw 5.1 innings of an eventual 5-4 loss for the Dodgers in extras. He held the New York Mets to one run despite issuing three walks to go along with three hits.
“Just the damage. That’s where the frustration comes,” Urías said through an interpreter after the game. “I fell a little short today. Especially after all the work the bullpen has done, just the damage, and the outing was too short.”
Coming off a 20-win season, Urías has yet to log more than six innings in any start this year. Though in most cases that’s been by design and Roberts prioritizing the long season ahead, just as he did with switching Urías’ start day this weekend.
Urías set a season high with 10 strikeouts but the Dodgers were swept by the Giants.
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