Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw are scheduled to start for the Dodgers on Thursday and Friday, respectively. (Associated Press photo)

PHILADELPHIA — About a month ago, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly expressed a desire to split up Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke in the rotation so that the two aces wouldn’t start on back-to-back days.

It wasn’t so much that Kershaw and Greinke were doing anything to deserve being split up. Rather, the back end of the Dodgers’ rotation — Carlos Frias and Mike Bolsinger at the time — were straining the bullpen by averaging roughly five innings per start. By dropping Kershaw or Greinke between Bolsinger and Frias, the thinking went, the bullpen would be better rested for each Bolsinger or Frias start.

The plan never came to fruition. Now, Frias and Bolsinger are in the minors, while trade deadline arrivals Mat Latos and Alex Wood have taken their place in the Dodgers’ rotation.

Mattingly isn’t totally sure what to expect from the newcomers.

“We’ll see where we end up with that now,” he said. “(Kershaw and Greinke) are back together, but we have another double-off-day thing coming up.”

The manager was referring to the off-days on August 17 and 20, sandwiched around two games in Oakland.

Two weeks after that, the Dodgers play three home games against the Giants Aug. 31-Sept. 2. Would Mattingly reset the rotation to line up Kershaw and Greinke to face the Giants?

“That’s something we’ll definitely look at,” he said. “This year we haven’t really been able to do it all year. This year hasn’t worked out like that but we may have a chance to be able to do that.”

For now, Greinke is scheduled to start Thursday afternoon against the Phillies. Kershaw is scheduled to start Friday night against the Pirates. If the rotation were to continue in order, the two aces would miss the Giants series entirely.

Expect that to change sometime over the next three weeks.