Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kersaw has been battling an injury since June, and was originally expected to return a few weeks ago in mid to late July. He has been dealing with some left shoulder inflammation. He is finally back and is starting for the Dodgers' Thursday night in a home game against the Colorado Rockies, and the pressure is on from his manager, Dave Roberts.

“Clayton expects to be a big contributor,” Roberts said in a video posted on Twitter from SportsNet LA. “We need him to be that guy.”

As one of the best pitchers in the MLB, everyone will always have high expectations for you, and that's how it is with Clayton Kershaw. However, that's how Kershaw wants it to be, and he's excelled in that position throughout his career.

Getting Kershaw back is massive for the Dodgers and everything seems in place for a deep postseason run. Los Angeles is currently 67-46 and six games up on the San Francisco Giants for first place in the NL West. The Giants have been really good this season and it was looking like things could come down to the wire for the division crown, but the Dodgers have created a little bit of separation. There is still a lot of time for that to change, however, and it's certainly a division race to keep an eye on.

Only four teams in the MLB have a better record than the Dodgers. When they're at full strength, they are just as good as any team in baseball, and are fully capable of winning it all this season.