Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw throws full-blown bullpen session

SAN DIEGO — Clayton Kershaw threw a full-scale bullpen session Tuesday, two days after he pitched for the Dodgers in Cincinnati.

By following his normal throwing schedule, Kershaw put himself in line to start Friday at Dodger Stadium against the Colorado Rockies, as well as the regular-season finale against the San Francisco Giants on Oct. 3.

“Everything’s been totally normal,” Manager Don Mattingly said.

That came as a relief to Kershaw, who took 11 days to throw a bullpen session after his Sept. 11 start in Arizona.

Kershaw has been bothered by pain in his right hip.

“I have no medical reasoning for why it feels good and it didn’t before,” he said. “I’m not complaining. I feel good now.”

Kershaw still refused to comment on whether off-season surgery was mentioned as a possibility when he visited an orthopaedic surgeon in New York last week.

Asked whether he felt more optimistic about his long-term prospects, he replied, “I don’t know. I’m optimistic now because it feels good. I didn’t really know what the long-term held to begin with. We’ll see what happens. We’re going to make it through how many more starts I have and make a decision from there.”

Kershaw wouldn’t even say whether he thought he would pitch Friday.

“I don’t know,” he said. “We’ll see what they let me do.”

But if he had a vote?

“As soon as possible,” he said. “Tomorrow.”

In his first start since Sept. 11, Kershaw pitched five innings in the Dodgers’ 5-3 victory over the Reds on Sunday. He was uncharacteristically wild, walking a season-high five batters, but gave up only one run.

Shane Victorino returns

Left fielder Shane Victorino returned to the Dodgers lineup and stole his career-best 38th base.

Victorino injured his left wrist while fielding a ball in Washington on Thursday and sat out the three-game series in Cincinnati.

Batting sixth, Victorino singled to right field in the second inning and stole second base. He tried scoring on a single by Luis Cruz, but was thrown out at the plate.

The steal was Victorino’s 14th in 45 games with the Dodgers. His previous career best of 37 was in 2007, when he was 26 and playing for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Short hop

Hanley Ramirez was also back in the lineup. Ramirez had to be taken out of the Dodgers’ win in Cincinnati on Sunday after he fouled a pitch off his left shin.

dylan.hernandez@latimes.com