What It Means:

Kershaw will be making his first big league start since leaving his July 23 start early with a back injury. He looked sharp as he tossed five innings in a rehab appearance earlier this week but will be limited in his return on Friday as the Dodgers try to ease him back into the rotation and try to keep him fresh for the playoffs.

Kershaw has posted a 2.91 SIERA with 168 strikeouts in 141 innings pitched so far this year. Our models project him to throw just 16 1/3 more innings, during the regular season, while racking up 16 punch outs and a 1-1 record.