Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw 'excited' to pitch in simulated game

LOS ANGELES - Clayton Kershaw will face actual hitters Tuesday as he sets his sights on returning to the Los Angeles Dodgers in September.

The team's staff ace had a 60-pitch bullpen session Friday at Dodger Stadium and is expected to square off against Dodgers minor leaguers in a simulated game either in Los Angeles or at the team's complex in Arizona while the rest of the club is in Colorado for a three-game series.

"Yeah I'm excited," Kershaw said. "The next step is to face hitters so I'm excited to do that for sure."

The Dodgers have not released a timetable of when Kershaw might return to the Dodgers, but after the simulated game, he is expected to pitch in an actual game setting at some point before he comes back. Complicating that plan, though, is that the minor league seasons at the Single-A, Double-A and Triple-A levels end Sept. 5.

Kershaw is intent on pitching again this season, but has given no guarantees he will be back in time to finish out the regular season.

The three-time Cy Young Award winner last pitched in a major league game on June 26 at Pittsburgh. After that outing, a mild disk herniation emerged. He has made it to this point of the rehab process already, pitching in a simulated game on July 16. But a setback that day caused him to restart the recovery process.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts remained vague when asked about Kershaw's return.