LOS ANGELES (AP) Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw is back, making for quite a birthday for manager Dave Roberts.
Kershaw is slated to start against Philadelphia on Thursday night after he was activated from the 10-day disabled list. The three-time NL Cy Young Award winner was sidelined with left biceps tendinitis.
''That's the perfect gift I could ask for,'' said Roberts, who turned 46 on Thursday. ''I know he's been chomping at the bit and he's back in that Kershaw game-day mode today, so that's good.''
The Dodgers' rotation has been hit hard by injuries. Kenta Maeda was placed on the DL on Wednesday with a mild left hip strain. Rich Hill (blister) and Hyun-Jin Ryu (left groin strain) remain unavailable.
The 30-year-old Kershaw went 1-4 with a 2.86 ERA in his first seven starts. He has hasn't appeared in a major league game since May 1.
His year also started with an uncharacteristically high 10 walks over 44 innings, in marked contrast to the 11 walks he had in 149 innings for the entire 2016 regular season.
It is the third consecutive year Kershaw has been on the disabled list, missing time each of the past two seasons with a back injury.
The Dodgers optioned reliever Pat Venditte to Triple-A Oklahoma City to make room on the roster.
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