At 3 p.m. Wednesday, Clayton Kershaw finished warming in Dodger Stadium’s home bullpen and walked toward the mound. He then took another scheduled step toward returning to the team when he faced Chase Utley, Rob Segedin and Joc Pederson in a two-inning simulated game.
It went off without a noticeable hitch. After the first simulated inning, Kershaw playfully complimented Pederson’s patience to not swing at the fifth pitch he saw. Kershaw then returned to the mound to fire 15 more pitches.
Next for the 29-year-old left-hander will be three innings of another simulated game on Monday.