Kershaw ‘pretty sure’ he’ll make next start

SAN DIEGO â€”  Still sick with a stomach flu that cut short his opening-day start, Clayton Kershaw said he was “pretty sureâ€� he would be able to pitch in the Dodgers’ home opener Tuesday.

“We’ll see,� Kershaw said.

Kershaw appeared visibly drained but reported feeling better than he did the previous day when he lasted only three innings in the Dodgers’ 5-3 victory over the San Diego Padres.

“I felt pretty bad,� he said. “I know I needed to try to get out there. After that third inning, I started getting dizzy and light-headed and stuff, so I really couldn’t do it anymore.�

Kershaw didn’t give up any runs. “I just wasn’t throwing with a lot of effort,� he said. “I was basically doing what my body would let me do.�

Upon his exit, Kershaw collapsed in the tunnel connecting the dugout to the clubhouse. He tried to return to the team hotel across the street from Petco Park, but was too weak.

Kershaw isn’t sure if he will throw his regularly scheduled bullpen session on Saturday. “Play it by ear,� he said. “Don’t know. I don’t feel queasy anymore. I feel weak.�

Manager Don Mattingly is expecting Kershaw to be ready to face the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday, regardless of whether he throws his bullpen session. “He just needs to feel better,� Mattingly said. “I’m not worried about giving him the ball. He’s ready.�

Andre Ethier was hit by a similar illness earlier in the week but felt better by the next day.

Ethier went out of his way to tell General Manager Ned Colletti something: “I wasn’t the one who passed it onto him.�

“I heard other people were sick before,� Ethier said.

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Loney sits

With the Dodgers facing a left-hander in Cory Luebke, Mattingly made some lineup alterations.

James Loney didn’t start. Juan Rivera, who played in left field the previous day, shifted to Loney’s usual spot at first base. Jerry Hairston Jr. started in left field.

Left-handed-hitting Ethier was dropped from fourth in the lineup to fifth. Rivera moved into the cleanup spot.

Loney hit .213 against left-handers last season, but Mattingly said he isn’t part of a straight platoon. When explaining why he sat Loney, Mattingly pointed to Loney’s career numbers against Luebke: one for seven with four strikeouts.

“The punchouts are what scare me,� Mattingly said. “It tells me he doesn’t see him well.�

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Opening-day festivities

Terry Siedler, daughter of the late Walter O’Malley, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch at the Dodgers’ home opener Tuesday.

This year will mark the 50th anniversary of the opening of Dodger Stadium.

Siedler’s mother, Kay O’Malley, threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the first game played in the ballpark in 1962. Siedler will be escorted to the mound by her brother, former Dodgers owner Peter O’Malley.

Members of the 1962 Dodgers will also be in attendance. Among them will be Maury Wills, Tommy Davis, Larry Burright, Tim Harkness, Ken McMullen, Wally Moon, Ron Perranoski, Pete Richert, Ed Roebuck, Norm Sherry, Daryl Spencer and Stan Williams.

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