Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw looks sharp in second Cactus League appearance

The next hit Clayton Kershaw gives up this spring will be the opposition’s first against him. In his second Cactus League outing, Kershaw zoomed through two spotless innings against the Indians in a 4-2 victory over Cleveland.

“He had everything working,” Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts said. “The slider was good, [he had] fastball command. Two clean innings. It was good to see.”

Kershaw has retired all nine batters faced thus far. He faced a collection of Indians regulars that included infielder Jose Ramirez, designated hitter Yan Gomes and outfielder Lonnie Chisenhall. Only two Indians managed to get the baseball out of the infield.

“You definitely want to try to face guys that are playing every day in the big leagues,” Kershaw said. “You want that. And I faced some good hitters today, which is always helpful, to see where you’re at. But at this point in spring, the pitchers still have the advantage.”

At this juncture, little looks amiss with Kershaw, who is operating under increased scrutiny this spring after sitting out a significant portion of 2016 because of a herniated disk in his lower back. He remains on track to start his seventh consecutive opening day, and has shown no sign of distress related to his health.

During his 23-pitch outing, Kershaw saw improvement with his fastball command, though he indicated his curveball was not always cooperative. The pitch broke as he wanted, but he could not maneuver it over the plate.

“I maybe threw one or two in the strike zone, but the rest were bounced,” he said. “In certain situations, you want to bounce it, but today I was trying to get it in there for a strike a little more often, and I wasn’t able to do that.”

Roberts to hit road to watch McCarthy

When a team has a split-squad day scheduled, it is customary for the manager to remain at home. Roberts plans to ignore that to travel to Scottsdale on Friday to watch Brandon McCarthy face the Diamondbacks. Pitching coach Rick Honeycutt will also make the trip, with bench coach Bob Geren managing Rich Hill as the other half of the squad faces Kansas City at Camelback Ranch.

McCarthy is part of the competition for the final two spots in the starting rotation. Roberts wanted to watch him face hitters as part of the evaluation. McCarthy has impressed team officials with his ability to throw strikes, a skill he could not harness after he returned from Tommy John surgery last summer.

“He’s been throwing the heck out of the baseball,” Roberts said.

Gonzalez making progress

Roberts laid out a tentative schedule for first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, who has still not received full clearance to play in games because of inflammation in his right elbow. That could change soon, Roberts explained.

Gonzalez swung a bat without making contact on Thursday. He was scheduled to hit off a tee on Friday. Roberts said team doctor Neal ElAttrache is expected to examine Gonzalez on Monday as a final checkup before game action. Roberts hoped Gonzalez could receive an at-bat in a game on Monday and start on Tuesday, before joining Team Mexico for the World Baseball Classic.

“It’s encouraging,” Roberts said. “He’s pain-free. The strength is there. I think we could have been more aggressive, but I think right now, it was smart to just be more cautious.”

Seager set for Friday

Corey Seager wore a compression sleeve on his right shin, but otherwise showed no signs of irritation related to the bruise that has sidelined him since Monday. Seager took part in drills in the morning. Roberts expects him to return to shortstop in a game on Friday. Second baseman Logan Forsythe will also return to action on Friday. Forsythe played in the Cactus League opener after receiving an injection to aid the flexibility of his left knee earlier in camp.

andy.mccullough@latimes.com

Twitter: @McCulloughTimes