BASEBALL REPORT : DAILY UPDATE : DODGERS : Hershiser Optimistic About Return

Orel Hershiser was encouraged enough after throwing 90 pitches at Candlestick to say that he could be back with the Dodgers as soon as mid-May.

In a simulated game in San Diego Friday, Hershiser will face hitters for the first time since his rehabilitation was sidetracked by a sore arm March 15, a day Hershiser calls, “Black Friday.”

“I will probably throw between two and four simulated games, and then make three to five minor league starts,” Hershiser said. “That means that barring setbacks, it will be a month to a month and a half before I come back.”