On Thursday Dodgers manager Dave Roberts informed the media that right-hander Brandon McCarthy would be making his first start of the 2016 season and first since undergoing Tommy John surgery on April 30, 2015. And though the Glendale, California native, who turns 31 on Thursday, spent a relatively quick 14 months recovering and another four weeks rehabbing in the minor leagues, he wants to accomplish what fellow Dodgers starter Scott Kazmir accomplished in Saturday night’s 6-1 win over the Colorado Rockies before declaring himself 100% back from his surgery.

“You need Nolan Arenado to let you know, ‘Hey, your sinker sucks right now,’ or ‘Your stuff is where it is right now,'” McCarthy told reporters on Saturday. “It feels hard to say that, but I realize it’s good enough to compete. I need to find out what I need to refine, what needs to be tinkered with and what’s good enough.”

While Saturday’s Old Timers pre-game activities were taking place, McCarthy was getting in his running in preparation for his first major league start since April 25, 2015. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

On Saturday night Kazmir was the benefactor of a continuing hot-hitting Dodgers offense that produced hits from every position player in their starting lineup except for catcher A.J. Ellis and ended with Kazmir allowing no runs and only three hits while walking none and striking out 10. Three of those strikeouts were by Arenado, who is currently hitting .291 with 22 home runs – second most in the National League. (Note: Arenado homered in his final at-bat in the top of the ninth inning off of Dodgers reliever Chris Hatcher).

“I was mixing up a little bit but my fastball, I threw a couple early in the game, it looked like [Arenado] was having a hard time picking it up so I kind of expanded the zone on him a little bit,” said Kazmir about striking out one of the best hitters in the game three consecutive times. “He has a definite hot zone that you want to stay away from so I was able to do that and expand the zone a little bit.”

McCarthy made a total of four rehab appearances, three with the Advanced Single-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes and one with the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers. In those four appearances – all starts – he allowed three earned runs on seven hits (including three home runs) while striking out 11 and walking three in 13.2 innings of work, for a 4.61 ERA and 1.317 WHIP. That said, it’s not the results of his rehab games that McCarthy was interested, it was working on his pitches and building up strength in his surgically-repaired arm.

“My focus was on pitch execution and getting people out,” McCarthy said of his rehabilitation games. “Once I got there, I felt like it had broken off and I wasn’t thinking about anything else but pitching.”

McCarthy said that he felt he was ready to return a big league mound after his final rehab start with the Quakes on June 27. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Roberts made it clear that there will be no limitations on McCarthy in his first game in over 14 months.

“For Mac we don’t really have any limitations,” Roberts said. “I think that obviously with the scope of how you can only go for so long, but I think that there’s really no specific pitch or innings-limit for Mac.”