LOS ANGELES — Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw is scheduled to pitch Friday at Miami after spending more than two months on the disabled list with a herniated disk.

Manager Dave Roberts says Kershaw won’t have a specific pitch count, but the team will be looking at the big picture with the playoffs coming up next month.

The Dodgers lead the NL West by two games over San Francisco.

Kershaw dominated in his lone rehab start at Class A Rancho Cucamonga on Saturday night. The left-hander allowed only an infield hit, struck out five and walked none.

He threw 35 pitches in the game and another 15 in the bullpen to reach his 50-pitch limit for the night.

Despite the temporary loss of their ace, the Dodgers not only survived but thrived in Kershaw’s absence.

Advertisement

They’ve gone 35-24 without him and turned an eight-game deficit into a three-game lead overSan Francisco.

INDIANS: A female fan was taken from the stands after being hit in the face by a foul ball during Sunday’s game with the Miami Marlins.

The ball hit by Cleveland’s Lonnie Chisenhall in the bottom of the fourth inning skipped over the top of Miami’s dugout behind first base and struck the woman, who was quickly assisted by other fans and Progressive Field personnel.

The woman held a towel on her nose as she walked with assistance to a medical station in the ballpark.

ANGELS: Pitcher Matt Shoemaker left Sunday’s game against the Seattle Mariners after being hit in the head by a line drive off the bat of Kyle Seager.

Shoemaker was hit on the right side of his head with one out in the second inning.

Advertisement

Seager’s liner had an exit velocity of 105 mph according to MLB Statcast. Shoemaker was able to turn his head slightly to avoid a direct blow to his face but was unable to get his glove up in time.

After the game, the Angels announced that a CT scan revealed Shoemaker suffered a small fracture and hematoma.

He was to be seen by a neurologist and remained in Seattle overnight for observation.

“That was probably the scariest thing I’ve ever seen on a baseball field,” Seager said.

Shoemaker was down for several minutes and bleeding from the spot where he was hit. Teammates knelt around the mound and Seager anxiously watched while Shoemaker was tended to.

He never lost consciousness, team officials said.

Shoemaker is in his third full season with the Angels, emerging as a rookie in 2014 when he went 16-4 with a 3.04 ERA.

PADRES: Veteran shortstop Alexei Ramirez was released by San Diego. Ramirez, 34, hit .240 with five homers and 41 RBI in 128 games with the Padres this year, starting 109 at shortstop.

CARDINALS: St. Louis activated switch-hitting catcher Brayan Pena from the 60-day disabled list and promoted rookie catcher Carson Kelly from Triple-A Memphis.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.