Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw likely out until September, still managing soreness

LOS ANGELES — The sore elbow that sent Clayton Kershaw to the injured list in early July will likely sideline him until September now.

Kershaw threw approximately 45 pitches in a three-inning simulated game on July 27 at Oracle Park in San Francisco. The soreness in his elbow returned after that and Kershaw has been shut down from throwing entirely.

“Basically I just tried to come back too fast which is a bummer,” Kershaw said Friday, acknowledging the setback. “After the sim game, it really didn’t respond well. It’s frustrating. It’s still nothing serious. But it’s something that’s just going to take a little bit of time.

“It’s no fun. Being hurt is miserable. I really don’t enjoy it at all, especially with what’s going on here and the guys we have coming in. This stretch run right now, I want to be a part of it so bad. I’m going to do everything I can to be back. I think I will be. But it’s definitely looking more like September than August. I know we’re still going to be in the middle of it, so I’m excited to be a part of it then.”

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts described Kershaw’s issue as “just soreness” and emphasized that all examinations of the left-hander’s elbow have been “clean.”

“It’s just right now, there’s some soreness in the elbow,” Roberts said. “So, if you look at where we’re at, trying to get it all to dissipate and the buildup and progression, what it will take – just simple math puts us at the beginning of September.”

Kershaw has not pitched since going four innings in Washington on July 3. At that point, the three-time Cy Young Award winner had thrown 106-1/3 innings, his highest workload before the All-Star break since 2017. The Dodgers wanted to use Kershaw’s downtime due to his sore elbow as a way to ease back on his workload and get him ready for the stretch run. But Kershaw acknowledges he was “probably a little too impatient with my rehab.”

“That’s on me,” he said. “I just wanted to be back. I wanted to pitch. This time, it’s a little different because we’re up against the calendar. There’s only so much you can rest before you go. We’re going to rest as long as we can to give myself a good chance to pitch in September, pitch some meaningful games in September and be ready to go in October.

“I’m feeling better now and should be able to get going again soon.”

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Angels (RHP Jaime Barria, 2-0, 4.12 ERA) at Dodgers (LHP Julio Urias, 13-3, 3.40 ERA), Saturday, 6:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, Bally Sports West, 570 AM