Kershaw’s return expected to give LA a boost

Two and a half games out of first place, the Dodgers are expected to get a jolt of pitching medicine this week when Clayton Kershaw returns from the DL to start against the Washington Nationals.

The Nationals will see Zack Greinke (5-0) today and the reigning Cy Young winner the next game. Not since the days of Koufax and Drysdale have the Dodgers had such a strong 1-2 punch in the starting rotation.

Hyun-Jin Ryu is on the DL with shoulder pain and is in Los Angeles for medical evaluation. Dan Haren, Josh Beckett and Paul Maholm round out the rotation though Mattingly has been using rookies to fill the gaps.

The Dodgers lost a 5-4 thriller to Miami yesterday as the Marlins took two-of-three. The Dodgers managed three runs on five hits against Miami ace Jose Fernandez and Steven Fife kept the Dodgers in the game with six innings of work. Jamey Wright took the loss, giving up a ninth inning double to Jeff Baker for the winning run.

Puig collided with the right field wall and was hit by the ball on the walk-off hit. The Dodgers say he is day-to-day.

San Francisco leads the division and has won series at home and in Chavez Ravine. Angel Pagan (.327) and Michael Morse (.302) have been the early leaders for the Giants on offense.

The Rockies, with their potent hitting attack, have emerged as serious threats as well. The Rockies are hitting a sizzling .298 as a team, tops in the major leagues. Troy Tulowitzki (.400), Charlie Blackmon (.359) and former Twins star Justin Morneau (.336) are enjoying the friendly confines of Coors Field.

Conventional wisdom will tell you Colorado does not have the pitching to sustain a season-long run for the pennant but the Rockies bats are pretty convincing.

The Dodgers are hitting .254 as a team, 11^th best in the major leagues.

Dee Gordon (.353), Juan Uribe (.325), Yasiel Puig (.309) and Adrian Gonzalez (.292) are off to hot starts. Hanley Ramirez (.254), Andre Ethier (.239), Matt Kemp (.231) and Carl Crawford (.200) have been slow out of the gate.

Ramirez, Kemp, Ethier and Crawford should warm up and when they do the Dodgers’ offense could be scary for opposing pitchers.

After the Washington series, the Dodgers return home for a four-game set with the Giants that will determine the early leader in the division.