Following Sunday’s dominating 7-3 Dodgers win over the Washington Nationals at a rain soaked Nationals Park to take two of three from the Nats and finish their six-game road trip going 3-3, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts sprung some pretty heavy news on the gathered media.

The Dodgers skipper told reporters, including Dodgers beat writer Juan Toribio, that 35-year-old future Hall of Fame left-hander Clayton Kershaw, who was scheduled to start against the division-rival San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium on Monday night, was being pushed back to Friday against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park in Seattle. Roberts was quick to add that the move was not injury related.

Perhaps a little too quick.

As Dodgers fans know all too well, the Dallas, TX native and Dodgers first round draft pick in 2006 out of Highland Park High School in Dallas is recovering from a left shoulder injury that sidelined him for over a month earlier this season. And though the extremely popular Dodgers ace has made five starts since returning to action on August 10, there has been a significant drop in his his velocity in his last two starts, causing some (many) to believe that his manager may not be entirely forthcoming about his not injury related rescheduled start.

“He’s just going to try to stay sharp,” Roberts told reporters on Sunday. “And I talked to him about what we’re kind of prognosticating, and he’s in with it.”

If Kershaw does indeed start on Friday, it will be nine days since his last start against the Marlins on September 5 – something that is generally associated with someone who is recovering from some type of health issue as opposed to ‘regular rest.’ That said, Roberts acknowledged that there is “no downside” to the move, insisting that it is being done to line Kershaw up for his (presumably) three remaining regular season starts (against the Mariners, Giants and Rockies) and even more so for the postseason.

…or so he says.

Play Ball!

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