April 10th, 2019 at 8:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka It wasn’t without its blemishes, but Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw‘s second minor league rehab start on Tuesday evening will undoubtedly be his last.
After going 4.1 innings with the team’s Triple-A affiliate Oklahoma City Dodgers in their season opener on April 4, during which the 31-year-old Dallas, Texas native and future Hall of Famer allowed two runs on four hits (including a solo home run) while walking two and striking out six on 61 pitches (42 strikes), he went 6.0 innings with the team’s Double-A Tulsa Drillers on Tuesday night, allowing two runs on five hits (including two solo home runs) while walking none and striking out six on 81 pitches (59 strikes).
In the simplest of terms, he’s ready.
How can we be certain of this? That one is easy; a groin injury to fellow left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu on Monday evening that landed the 32-year-old Incheon, South Korea native on the Injured List, thereby leaving the Dodgers starting rotation one arm short. As such and with a little finagling, Kershaw slots into Sunday’s start on normal rest, with a possible surprise spot-starter going on Saturday … say like 23-year-old (on Friday) right-hander Dennis Santana, who was called up to the Dodgers this past Sunday to replace a struggling Brock Stewart in the Dodgers bullpen. As Dodger fans know, Santana has experience as a starting pitcher, having made 57 starts during his five seasons in the minors.
Although it is unknown exactly how long Ryu will be out of action, 39-year-old Dodgers left-hander Rich Hill is also close to returning to the Dodgers starting rotation, having begun the season on the IL for a strained left knee. In all likelihood, Hill will also be sent out for at least one but probably two minor league rehab starts before joining the Dodgers starting rotation. That adds up to a minimum of 10, but more likely 15 days from when he makes his first rehab start.
A by-product of all of this is that 22-year-old phenom left-hander Julio Urias will more than likely get at least two more starts for the Dodgers, who had hoped to move the popular Culiacan, Mexico native into the bullpen to limit his innings as he works his way back from June 2017 left shoulder surgery.
Stay tuned…
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I tuned in to that Tulsa rehab game last night. Kershaw’s velocity is NOT coming back (unless he finally gets his lower back operated on like Verlander did several years back, 2-year recovery time minimum), but his command was frighteningly impeccable and was as efficient with his pitch count as you’d want your starter to be. His days as a staff ace might very well be over, but he still has value as an innings-eating “pen saver” at the back end of a rotation.