“He hasn’t had many at-bats this year,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “We’re going to have some lefties here against the Giants. It was important to get him back and play him tonight.”

To make room for Heyward, outfielder James Outman was sent down to Triple-A Oklahoma City. Outman finished third in the 2023 NL Rookie of the Year voting, but hit just .153 with three homers and a .508 OPS in 45 major league games this season.

Heyward’s return is the first in what should be a big week for the Dodgers, who led the NL West by 7 1/2 games despite a series of injuries.

Three-time NL Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw is scheduled to make his first start of the season in Thursday’s series finale against San Francisco after recovering from midseason shoulder surgery. All-Star right-hander Tyler Glasnow is scheduled to start Wednesday after missing the past few weeks with back strain.

“It’s starting to look more like our baseball club,” Roberts said. “Not to take away from the guys that have fallen off a little bit, but these are the guys that we’ve had in the pipeline from the beginning. So to have them back is really encouraging.”

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb