After two months of being sidelined by an issue with his forearm, Clayton Kershaw is finally returning to the Los Angeles Dodgers starting rotation.
On Monday, the owner of Public Enemy Number One was reinstated to the Dodgers active 40-man roster from the 60-day Injured List. In the corresponding move, outfielder Steven Souza Jr was designated for assignment, for the second time this season.
When Kershaw was originally shut down with forearm tightness back in July, fans wondered if he would ever pitch for the Dodgers again. The issue could have been severe, leading to the dreaded Tommy John surgery. Kershaw’s latest contract with the Dodgers also expires at the end of this season, leading to doubt if Kershaw would pitch for the only team he’s ever known again.
But thankfully, that is not the case. After resting his arm and not throwing for a month, Kershaw slowly started building his arm back up, starting with long tosses and moving up to throwing off of the mound.
Kershaw had one rehab start in Triple-A Oklahoma City last week, where he threw three innings. He allowed four hits, including a two run home run, and throwing 49 pitches. He also allowed a double and issued three strikeouts and a walk. Clayton then joined the team in St Louis, and is now set to start Monday night for the first time since July 3rd.
The expected length of outing for the three time Cy Young Award winner is expected to be about four innings, and 60 pitches. Mitch White could handle some bulk innings after Kershaw’s night is through.
The Dodgers have finally returned to having five starters back in their starting rotation, as opposed to when they had three starters and two bullpen outings every five days. Still, for having to mix and match pitchers for as long as they did, their pitching staff has been phenomenal, keeping them in every single game.
After Max Scherzer threw his 3000th strikeout, he mentioned that he would like to still be Kershaw’s teammate when Kershaw throws his 3000th strikeout. Clayton currently has 2,653 career Ks. Thinking about the possibility of both of these future Hall of Famers in the Dodgers rotation for a couple more years is definitely exciting.
It is starting to seem more and more clear that the Dodgers will be hosting the Wild Card game come October. Seemingly, the San Francisco Giants may never lose again. Since the Dodgers could not take care of business in their head-to-head matchups, they won’t have much of a chance to make up the current 2.5 games they are back in the NL West.
The Dodgers are now starting a three game set against the Arizona Diamondbacks, while the Giants are beginning a four game set at home against the San Diego Padres. After losing three straight to the Dodgers, the Padres should be due for at least one win.
Think Blue Planning Committee 
Scherzer like Kershaw knows the craft of pitching. The difference being Scherzer threw some pitches at 98 last night with movement.
You never know in baseball if a team can lose momentum or get it. The problem with this Dodger team has been scoring runs in tight contests. We can hope that the speed Turner and Betts have might generate runs in tight games going forward. Dodger Blue has an article this afternoon quoting Roberts as saying he believes Bellinger has time to save his season! Its quotes like that make you wonder about Roberts. Sure he is attempting to support Bellinger. Does this mean Belli is back in CF and a drag on the lineup for the rest of the year? If so the Dodgers are throwing in the towel and going for the Wild Card Game. The great thing is they have 3 pitchers you could use. Urias has been incredible the last month and he was on the mound last year to close off a couple of series wins. They will probably use Scherzer. Buehler would be my 3rd choice if needed right now. In sports, you always go with the hot hand. Roberts has never figured that out.
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Tmax, you’ve got to stop being so negative. The Dodgers will not lose again this year and will go straight through the playoffs undefeated.
Meanwhile, the Giants scored 5 in the first off the Pads, but then were held scoreless in the second. It’s all going to work out perfectly.
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Through High school and JC I played baseball. A lot of us played. It was an absolute rule that players played team ball. If there was a guy on first no-outs some how you moved him into scoring position. If he was on second no-outs in a tight game you hit to the right side and moved him to 3rd. It was team baseball. When we see guys like Bellinger who is batting in the .150’s getting two strikes on him and still swinging from his heels it makes me angry. These guys are averaging Millions a year more than many make in their lives. Play team ball. There is no excuse with men on base that can be moved into scoring position or on 3rd that you don’t make contact. Shorten it up, if you have to chop at the ball. It’s their profession to hit the damn ball. That is one of the reasons I do not respect Roberts he does not enforce basic baseball team play.
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Don’t know if you’re watching the game tonight Tmax, but in the first with JT on second base, Cody hit the ball on the ground to the right side and moved him over.
Everything is now perfect. 🙂
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Being Positive is good. Thanks Jeff…
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Bellinger has looked a lot more relaxed at the plate and it shows. He is not missing pitches and he has hit some balls right on the nose and just missed hitting one out. He has a couple of hits with the new stance, so that will boost his confidence. Even with Pollock out, he is still the best option in CF. And don’t feed me that Taylor can play there BS. Taylor has been in as bad a slump as Belli has and strikes out way to much for a hitter of his style. Kershaw has never thrown 98 in his life, let alone his career. He is one of the few pitchers who can get away with a lower velocity. Maddux’s fastball could not break glass and he won over 300 games. Quit thinking everyone has to throw a lamb chop past a hungry wolf.
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