DENVER — Dodgers pitcher Bobby Miller is turning the page on the shoulder injury that interrupted his season.
The 6-foot-5 right-hander is set to be reinstated from the 15-day injured list and start Wednesday night’s game against the Colorado Rockies.
“I feel really good, really excited for tomorrow,” Miller said Tuesday. “It’s been a long 2½ months, but I’m feeling really healthy, happy to be back in a major league game.”
Miller put together a sterling rookie season in 2023, going 11-4 with a 3.76 ERA, and he got off to a strong start this year, winning his first outing March 29 against the St. Louis Cardinals by pitching six scoreless innings and striking out 11. He made two more starts, both abbreviated, before inflammation in his pitching shoulder landed him on the injured list. He’ll be making his first appearance for the Dodgers since April 10 after completing a minor league rehab assignment.
“Physically, he’s in a good spot,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “He’s built up. I expect his focus will heighten now in a major league game. As far as on the rehab side, I don’t pay any mind to the results on the rehab side.”
Miller acknowledged that he went through a bit of a rough patch as far as his pitching during his rehab assignment but physically he said he felt better every time out.
“I felt like I was getting healthier each time out there, and tried not to worry too much about the results in a rehab game,” Miller said. “Obviously, I want the results to be good but not think too much of it. If I come out of it feeling really good, that’s what matters most. You get to the major league game, it’s going to be a little different, and I expect to do good out there.”
He’ll have a bit of history going for him when he makes his return Wednesday night in hitter-friendly Coors Field. Miller had one of the strongest outings of his rookie season at Colorado last September, allowing two runs on seven hits in seven innings. He struck out nine and walked none.
Miller said he would treat pitching in the Mile High City’s thin air just like any other start.
“That’s what I did here last year and it was one of my best starts of the year,” Miller said. “Knowing that it is Coors, I know my changeup will play really good and that’s my best pitch anyway, so that’s a plus for me.”
THE ROAD BACK
Clayton Kershaw is set to take a major step in his return from offseason shoulder surgery.
The three-time Cy Young Award winner is scheduled to make his first minor league rehab start on Wednesday for Class-A Rancho Cucamonga.
Roberts said Kershaw is slated to go three innings. Provided he comes out of the outing OK, Kershaw likely will stretch out by an inning or two during subsequent rehab outings.
“Then we’ll kind of see where we’re at,” Roberts said.
The Dodgers have not formalized a timetable for Kershaw’s return, but if all goes well, he could rejoin the team sometime in July.
TOUGH TASK
Miguel Rojas is making the transition from utility infielder to everyday player as the replacement at shortstop for injured All-Star Mookie Betts, who is expected to be sidelined 6-8 weeks after suffering a fractured left hand last weekend.
Rojas said he’s prepared for a daily role because that’s the approach he takes every season, whether he is going to be a starter or a backup.
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“To be honest with you, this is what I prepare every offseason for, which is playing every day,” Rojas said. “I feel like I’m a natural shortstop. So, there’s not much of an adjustment that I have to make right now. I just have to take care of my body a little better because the workload is going to be a little higher.”
Still, Rojas acknowledges the difficulty of stepping in for Betts and the difficulty his absence poses for the team as a whole.
“There’s never a good time for one of your best players and one of the best players in the league to go down,” Rojas said. “Mookie is a guy who is very important to us, irreplaceable. So I feel for me, there is no way to replace someone like Mookie. But we can definitely, with the guys that we have on this team, hold it down until he gets back and helps us win the games we need to win late in the season and hopefully October.”
UP NEXT
Dodgers (RHP Bobby Miller, 1-1, 5.40 ERA) at Rockies (RHP Ryan Feltner, 1-6, 5.71 ERA), Wednesday, 5:40 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA, 570 AM