Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw made his first rehab start Thursday night as he continues to work his way back from shoulder inflammation.
Appearing for Triple-A Oklahoma City in its season opener against visiting San Antonio, Kershaw allowed two runs on four hits in 4 1/3 innings, striking out six and walking two while throwing 61 pitches.
In the first inning, Kershaw walked leadoff hitter Corey Ray on nine pitches, but he picked him off first. Kershaw fanned Keston Hiura to close out a scoreless inning.
In the second, Tyrone Taylor hit a drive down the left-field line that barely stayed fair for a solo homer that put San Antonio ahead. An RBI single by Jacob Nottingham made it 2-0 later in the inning. Kershaw threw scoreless innings in the third and fourth, before exiting in the fifth.
The Dodgers said earlier this week that Kershaw would likely need at least one more rehab outing after this before returning to the NL champions.
Kershaw has missed playing time in each of the past three seasons due to injuries. He was sidelined much of 2016 with a back injury before returning to pitch well late in the season and in the playoffs. He also landed on the disabled list the past two seasons with recurring back pain.
The 31-year-old went 9-5 with a 2.73 ERA last year and 2-3 with a 4.20 ERA during the Dodgers’ postseason march to the World Series.
Kershaw had started eight straight openers for Los Angeles.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.