LOS ANGELES -- Dodgers manager Dave Roberts on Tuesday renamed Clayton Kershaw his Opening Day starter, having previously named Kershaw to start the original Opening Day before the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the start of the 2020 season.

It will be Kershaw’s ninth Opening Day start in the past 10 seasons.

Opening Day for the Dodgers will be July 23 at Dodger Stadium against the Giants. Kershaw was 10-2 at Dodger Stadium last year. He was 1-2 against the Giants in 2019 but is 23-12 against them lifetime.

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Roberts also confirmed that pitchers Scott Alexander and Tony Gonsolin and catcher Keibert Ruiz have not reported to Summer Camp. Roberts would not say why or for how long the trio would be out, but he said he expects them to report at some point.

That makes seven 40-man roster players absent, the trio joining Kenley Jansen, Pedro Báez, Gavin Lux and A.J. Pollock as Dodgers who Roberts previously confirmed are not in camp. The Dodgers also lost starting pitcher David Price, who elected not to play this year, and pitcher Jimmy Nelson, who underwent back surgery on Tuesday and is out for the year.

“The guys that aren’t here are certainly going to be behind,” said Roberts. “We’ll do the best we can to get them up to speed, but every day they lose is a day we can’t get back.”

The absences have thinned out the relief corps. Gonsolin is believed to be in the mix to replace Price in the starting rotation, along with veteran Ross Stripling and rookie Dustin May. May missed Spring Training with an oblique strain and now Gonsolin’s chances are diminished by being out of camp indefinitely.

May, however, touched 99 mph facing hitters over the weekend, said Roberts, who added that the 22-year-old could make the club as a starter or reliever.

“There’s a lot to like with Dustin, in whatever role,” Roberts said.

Alexander, coming off left hand surgery that ended his 2019 season, looked healthy during Spring Training as he vied with fellow left-handers Caleb Ferguson and Adam Kolarek for a bullpen job made more challenging because of the new three-batter rule that threatens the need for lefty specialists.

Kershaw, who pitched four innings against Stripling (four-plus innings) in an intrasquad game on Monday night, enters his 13th big league season coming off an impressive 2019 season. He missed Opening Day last year with a sore left shoulder to snap a streak of eight consecutive Opening Day starts.

He still made 28 starts, went 16-5 with a 3.03 ERA, made the All-Star team for an eighth time and finished eighth in National League Cy Young Award voting.

Noteworthy
• Roberts said he was pleased with the intrasquad game.

“Understanding that you only have so many games to play to get ready for the season, I thought the intensity was really good,” he said.

He said he noticed how the safety protocols came into play.

“Joc [Pederson] hit a home run, no high-fives,” he said. “Mookie [Betts] scored a run, no high-fives. We’re really trying to be mindful of the social distancing in the dugout. It’s just different seeing a guy strike out and not throwing the ball around the diamond. Credit to our guys, it’s really not affecting their psyche.”

• Roberts said Max Muncy is day to day after taking a ball off his left ring finger. With Muncy, Pollock and Lux unavailable, the Dodgers filled out the intrasquad lineup with a clubhouse attendant starting in left field.

“He called off our MVP [Cody Bellinger], so we have to get better communication with him, and he turned a single into a triple,” said Roberts, who added, “It’s really good to see everyone in uniform and out of uniform helping in any way they can.”

• Roberts said newly signed reliever AJ Ramos should throw a bullpen session in the next day or two.