SAN FRANCISCO — The Los Angeles Dodgers got good news and bad news out of two bullpen sessions performed by injured pitchers Tuesday afternoon in San Francisco.
While manager Don Mattingly would have preferred to have a perfect day in the pregame activities, make no mistake about it: He was far happier with the good news than he was disappointed in the bad news.
Mattingly’s contentment came out of left-hander Clayton Kershaw’s all-fastball workout off the bullpen mound. The staff ace threw up to 85 mph, and most important, experienced no pain in his inflamed back.
The short display was so encouraging, Kershaw was immediately scheduled for an all-curveball session off a flat surface Wednesday. The Dodgers hope to have Kershaw back on the bullpen mound Thursday for another fastball-fest.
While no timetable is set, Mattingly indicated a minor league rehab start could be in Kershaw’s near-future. That could happen by the end of the month.
Not bad for a guy some speculated might be out through the All-Star break.
The bad news before the game came out of Chad Billingsley’s bullpen session, which had to be cut short because of recurring pain in the right-hander’s surgically repaired elbow.
Billingsley was scheduled to fly back to Los Angeles for an MRI exam Wednesday.
