Kuroda goes 3 2/3 in rehab start

Hiroki Kuroda pitched in his first game since opening day Friday night, throwing 58 pitches over 3 2/3 innings for Class-A Inland Empire in Bakersfield in a rehabilitation start.

Kuroda, who struck out three, gave up one hit and an unearned run.

Sidelined for six weeks by a strained left side muscle, Kuroda is expected to pitch in another game Wednesday.

Asked when he thought his opening-day starter might be activated, Dodgers Manager Joe Torre said, “My guess, conservatively speaking, is early June.”

Torre said Kuroda could be ready to pitch in the majors in the Dodgers’ nine-game homestand that starts June 1.

Kuroda probably will make two more starts in the minors, Torre said.

Kuroda struck out two in a perfect first inning Friday but gave up a leadoff double to start the second. Mauro Gomez advanced to third on a groundout and scored when Inland Empire center fielder Trayvon Robinson dropped a fly ball.

Infection sidelines Paul

Backup outfielder Xavier Paul went on the 15-day disabled list Friday because of a staph infection, prompting the Dodgers to call up outfielder Jamie Hoffman from triple-A Albuquerque to replace him.

Paul scraped his knee Sunday in Florida when he made a sliding catch. By late Wednesday night, Paul had a full-blown infection and had to receive treatment at USC University Hospital, where he remains.

Trainer Stan Conte said Paul could be out for “weeks.”

The Dodgers’ medical staff met with the team today to warn them about the danger of staph infections and remind them of preventive measures.

Sheriff’s son called up

When the Mankato Free Press in Hoffman’s home state of Minnesota broke the news that the 24-year-old outfielder was being called up to the majors, it identified him as “Rich Hoffman’s son.”

Rich Hoffman is the sheriff of Brown County and has been working on a high-profile missing-child case. He has led the search for Daniel Hauser, a cancer-stricken teenager who defied a court order and left Minnesota.

Hauser, 13, refused to undergo chemotherapy and reportedly fled to Mexico with his mother to seek alternative treatment.

“He’s a little busy at work,” Jamie Hoffman said of his father.

That didn’t stop Hoffman’s father from flying to Los Angeles on Friday.

Hoffman’s road to the majors was an unusual one.

He intended to pursue a hockey career upon graduating from New Ulm High.

An eighth-round pick of the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2003 NHL draft, Hoffman wasn’t drafted by any baseball team. He was enrolled at Colorado College, where he intended to play hockey, but the Dodgers signed him the day before he was scheduled to start classes.

When Hoffman struggled in rookie ball in 2004, he said he was sometimes asked, “Do you think you made the right decision?”

Hoffman was recently promoted to triple A from double-A Chattanooga, where he hit .307 with two home runs and 16 runs batted in.

Short hops

Michael Young, a former NFL wide receiver and Denver Broncos front-office executive for the last 13 years, was named the Dodgers’ chief revenue officer. Young played football and baseball at UCLA. . . . Hong-Chih Kuo, who went on the disabled list May 2 because of a strained elbow, reported to extended spring training in Arizona.

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dylan hernandez@latimes.com