LOS ANGELES _ Clayton Kershaw will return to the Los Angeles Dodgers rotation Friday in San Diego, 40 days after he exited his last start because of a strain in his lower back.
After reporting continued good health following his Saturday rehab start with triple-A Oklahoma City, the ace left-hander will fly to Arizona to meet the Dodgers on Monday. There, he'll take part in the team's hotly anticipated annual fantasy football draft.
Because major league rules allow rosters to expand by 60 percent beginning Sept. 1, the Dodgers will not be required to make a corresponding move when they activate Kershaw.
They have a doubleheader scheduled for Saturday. Yu Darvish, who started Sunday in his first game back from the disabled list, is likely to pitch in one of those games. Manager Dave Roberts was unwilling to confirm that Sunday.
The team will need a sixth starter to fill in the other game, and, amid a 17-game, 16-day stretch that begins Tuesday, they could stick to a six-man rotation for the next few weeks.
"I see it as a very good possibility," Roberts said. "That makes sense."
