Roberts: Kershaw to make '20 debut Sunday

Clayton Kershaw will be activated off the 10-day injured list to start Sunday against the D-backs in Arizona, manager Dave Roberts said on Friday.

“Clayton is champing at the bit to get back and pitch in a Major League game,” said Roberts, who will push scheduled Sunday starter Walker Buehler to Monday in San Diego. “It just makes sense from a lot of angles.”

It also provides an extra day of rest for the entire rotation through Thursday’s off-day, after which Tony Gonsolin could be removed to leave five starters -- Kershaw, Buehler, Ross Stripling, Julio Urías and Dustin May.

Kershaw encountered back stiffness while doing weight-room exercises two days before Opening Day, and instead of making that Game 1 start against the Giants, he was put on the injured list for with a back problem for the fourth time in his career.

He missed a second start on Wednesday in Houston, with both of his starts taken by May and both won by the Dodgers.

• Roberts said Josh Sborz, optioned to make room for Friday night starter Gonsolin, will work out at the Camelback Ranch-Glendale facility in Arizona through the weekend, then report to the alternate training site at USC.

• Ron Porterfield, the club’s director of player health, will serve as the MLB-mandated “protocol compliance officer.”