Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw, who has been dealing with shoulder inflammation all spring, threw a 38-pitch bullpen session Sunday and is scheduled to face hitters this week, possibly as early as Tuesday.
Kershaw had thrown two previous bullpen sessions, but those only included fastballs. He threw all pitches Sunday and will face Dodgers teammates on a back field at the team’s spring training complex in Glendale, Ariz., this week.
With just 11 days remaining before the start of the season, the Dodgers still have not said officially if Kershaw will be ready for Opening Day, but on Saturday, manager Dave Roberts came close to admitting that his starter will not be available.
“It’s unlikely, that’s fair,” Roberts told reporters when the question arose of Kershaw’s availability for the March 28 home game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. “But to be definitive, I don’t want to close the door. But when you look at the calendar, it’s more unlikely.”
Kershaw has started in a team-record eight consecutive openers, but since he doesn’t figure to see action in a spring training game until next week at the earliest, that run is in jeopardy.
Kershaw, who turns 31 on Tuesday, has pitched nearly 2,100 innings and struck out 2,275 batters in his decorated 11-year career. He is 153-69 overall with a 2.39 ERA and three Cy Young Awards.
Kershaw was 9-5 last season with a 2.73 ERA in 26 starts but has experienced back issues in each of the past three seasons. He has guided the Dodgers to two consecutive appearances in the World Series.