If he doesn’t miss another start, Clayton Kershaw has a chance to make two more starts in 2012. One will come Friday, when the Dodgers host the Colorado Rockies in a potential do-or-die scenario.

Manager Don Mattingly confirmed that Kershaw would start on regular rest Friday, saying “as long as Kersh is good — if nothing happens in the next day — at this point it’s Kersh.”

If the Dodgers lose their next two games in San Diego, and the St. Louis Cardinals win tonight in Houston, the Dodgers will have to beat the Rockies on Friday just to keep their faint playoff hopes alive. It’ll be an important game either way.