Will Clayton Kershaw pitch Wednesday if the Dodgers are eliminated?

The Los Angeles Dodgers look for their fourth straight win on Saturday night as they host the Colorado Rockies in the middle game of a three-game series at Dodger Stadium. They hope to continue winning to make Wednesday's game meaningful, as Clayton Kershaw would be in line to start the final game of the regular season.

Kershaw pitched eight shutout innings on Friday with 10 strikeouts, and showed no ill effects from his right hip impingement that sidelined Kershaw for 11 days earlier in September.

"Even in the eighth I was kind of nervous about sending him back out. He just rolled," said manager Don Mattingly. "He was throwing the ball so good. It tells you that there's nothing going on. If there is something going on you don't keep throwing the ball like that."

Kershaw's next start would be Wednesday, but that's if the Dodgers aren't eliminated by then, a looming possibility as they opened play three games behind the St. Louis Cardinals for the second National League wild card spot with five games to play. Mattingly was unwilling to discuss the possibility of whether or not Kershaw would pitch on Wednesday if the Dodgers were already eliminated.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. We're not there yet."

The Dodgers' elimination number is three, meaning any combination of Dodgers' losses and Cardinals' wins totaling three would mathematically eliminate the Dodgers from the postseason.