Clayton Kershaw is getting closer and closer to a return, and his fourth rehab start took place in the Arizona Complex League, after last week’s experience with waiting on weather in Oklahoma.

Kershaw pitched six scoreless, hitless innings against the Reds ACL team on Tuesday evening at Camelback Ranch. The left-hander struck out four and walked one. That walk was erased by a double play in the second inning, so Kershaw faced the minimum 18 batters on Tuesday.

This was a first-inning strikeout of 19-year-old Reds prospect Anielson Buten.

After a pair of three-inning starts for Triple-A Oklahoma City and Double-A Tulsa, facing one batter in the fourth inning in the second of those starts, Kershaw pitched five innings last Wednesday in Oklahoma City.

Now he’s up to six innings, with at least one more rehab start left.

Kershaw is on the 60-day injured list, and the earliest he can be activated is Saturday, May 17. If we’re gaming this out, Kershaw getting five days rest twice has him making his next (and final?) rehab start next Monday, when the Arizona Complex League is the only Dodgers minor league game on the schedule, followed by a potential return to the majors on Sunday, May 18.

Coincidentally, that Sunday will be when the Dodgers will next need a sixth starter (after Landon Knack this Wednesday), following the upcoming Monday off day. But trying to plan out the starting rotation more than a few days in advance will drive a person mad, so let’s just focus on the present. And it looks like Kershaw is healthy and nearing a return for what will be his 18th major league season.