NEW YORK (AP) Clayton Kershaw has been activated from the disabled list and was set to pitch for the Los Angeles Dodgers despite a shaky forecast at Citi Field.
The lefty ace was scheduled to make a rehab start with Triple-A Oklahoma City at Omaha, but Los Angeles decided Friday to have him pitch in New York on Saturday because of precarious weather in Nebraska. Kershaw has been sidelined since June 1 with a lower back strain.
Skies were gray in New York throughout the day, and it might begin to rain before the game, per weather reports.
Kershaw will oppose Mets ace Jacob deGrom, though Kershaw’s outing will likely be short. Manager Dave Roberts said there won’t be restrictions on Kershaw, though before the switch, he was expected to throw no more than four innings or 60 pitches for Oklahoma City.
Rookie left-hander Caleb Ferguson (0-1, 7.59 ERA) will be ready in reserve. The 21-year-old left-hander had been slated to make his fourth major league start Saturday.
Kershaw pleaded with Roberts to pitch in the majors instead of Triple-A and won out because of projected rain in Omaha. As of Saturday evening, the forecast in Omaha called for just a 35 percent chance of rain. Roberts laughed when a reporter suggested he’d been duped.
Chris Taylor was held out of the Dodgers’ lineup for the second straight day with a tight left hamstring. Roberts says he’ll be available off the bench to hit and may be ready for more Sunday, though he’ll likely be held out of the lineup then, too. Taylor expects he won’t need to go on the disabled list.
Rookie righty Walker Buehler (4-1, 2.63) is still dealing with soreness from a right rib microfracture. Buehler nixed a scheduled bullpen session Saturday, and Roberts said he may throw Sunday if there’s improvement.
Adam Liberatore was optioned to Triple-A to make space for Kershaw.
—
Follow Jake Seiner on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jake-seiner
—
More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
25% Bonus via Western Union
