Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw overcomes shaky start

Reporting from Phoenix — 

Clayton Kershaw settled down after a rocky first inning and later singled home a run to help his cause Monday in a Dodgers’ 8-4 split-squad win over the Milwaukee Brewers.

Kershaw, the highly touted left-hander who turned 22 on Friday, labored in the first inning by giving up singles to Carlos Gomez and Ryan Braun and walking Prince Fielder.

Casey McGehee followed with a grounder that third baseman Nick Green threw wildly to second base in a bid to start a double play, allowing Gomez and Braun to score. The Brewers scored a third time in the inning on a fielder’s choice.

Then Kershaw found his rhythm and in the third inning retired the side, which included throwing a fastball past Braun for a strikeout. In the fourth inning, Kershaw hit a single to left field to drive in catcher A.J. Ellis.

Kershaw gave up three runs -- one earned -- and two hits in five innings. He struck out six, walked three and threw two wild pitches.

“Today was good,” he said. “I felt fine all the way through. In the first inning, I got in some trouble but the rest of the game I minimized the damage. It’s good to get in that type of situation and get out of it.”

Kershaw is vying with three right-handers to start opening day, April 5: Chad Billingsley, Vicente Padilla and Hiroki Kuroda, who pitches Wednesday and who started opening day last year.

Manager Joe Torre said he would announce his selection Thursday.

Asked about starting opening day, Kershaw said, “If that happens it’ll be great. If not, I’ll pitch one of the other four days.”

Torre’s contract

Torre confirmed that he asked to suspend talks with the Dodgers about possibly extending his contract beyond this season. Torre is in the last year of a three-year, $13-million contract.

“I just didn’t want to have it cause any kind of a distraction here at this point in time; I’ve got more important things to do,” Torre said of his decision, first reported on MLB.com. “It’s too close to getting the season started.”

Torre, who turns 70 in July, also is considering a move to the Dodgers’ front office after he stops managing, which is playing into the negotiations.

Short hops

The Dodgers released veteran infielder Angel Berroa. Outfielder Jamie Hoffman, who was claimed by the Washington Nationals in the Rule 5 draft in December and then traded to the New York Yankees, was returned to the Dodgers, who said Hoffman would report to minor league camp.