Sitting out of lineup could be costly to Hudson

SAN FRANCISCO —  Orlando Hudson was out of the Dodgers’ lineup Friday, Manager Joe Torre’s decision to sit him likely costing the second baseman $40,000 or $50,000.

At least for now.

Per the terms of the one-year, incentive-laden deal Hudson signed with the budget-conscious Dodgers this spring, he will be paid $10,000 for each plate appearance from No. 576 to No. 632.

Hudson went into the series in San Francisco with 577 plate appearances. He has already earned $4.06 million in incentive pay in addition to his $3.38 million base salary.

Hudson, who has sat four times in the Dodgers’ last 11 games, wouldn’t say if he thought there was any link between the incentive clause in his contract and his decreased playing time.

Torre said he sat Hudson on Friday because he was two for 21 in his career against Matt Cain. Hudson’s replacement, Ronnie Belliard, started the game 0 for 3.

“I can’t make the lineup,” said Hudson, who is batting .250 this month. “I have to go with whatever the manager says.”

Hudson will be back in the lineup tonight, Torre said.

Kershaw: shoulder separated

Clayton Kershaw is in worse shape than the Dodgers initially reported.

When Kershaw ran into the outfield wall shagging fly balls at Dodger Stadium on Sunday, he did more than bruise his non-throwing shoulder -- he separated it.

“Bruise, sprain, separated, it’s all the same,” Kershaw said.

Kershaw, who was scheduled to pitch the final of the three-game series in San Francisco, said he is hopeful of throwing a bullpen session and returning to the rotation next week.

While the Dodgers’ medical staff hasn’t let him catch a ball since hurting himself, Kershaw said he’s noticed an improvement in the range of motion of his right arm.

“Certain things that were hard at the beginning aren’t hard now,” he said. “Bending down to put on your shoe or putting on deodorant, I can do all of that now.”

The Dodgers are less concerned about Kershaw’s ability to catch the ball than they are about the possibility of him altering his mechanics to deal with the pain, which could cause him to hurt his prized throwing arm.

Wolf could start Tuesday

Randy Wolf said his hyperextended left elbow, which forced him to miss his scheduled start on Friday, was “back to 85-90% normal.”

Torre said there was a chance Wolf could start on Tuesday, the next day the Dodgers will need a fifth starter. If Wolf can’t go that night, Torre said Charlie Haeger, Jeff Weaver or Scott Elbert could start.

Wolf was sent home from Arizona on Wednesday to receive a cortisone injection from Dr. Neal ElAttrache. Wolf said he wasn’t hurt hitting in a game, as the Dodgers said previously, but taking batting practice on Sept. 2.

Wolf has previously argued against the notion that he is injury prone and did so again on Friday.

“I’m leading the league in starts,” said Wolf, who has started 30 games. “It’ll probably be one start [that I miss]. I’ll probably go over 200 innings. This was not done throwing. It’s as if I sprained my ankle running the bases. To me, a guy that gets hurt a lot is a guy who gets weak and pulls a groin. I didn’t pull anything.”

Short hops

Fans unafraid of jinxing the Dodgers can enter a drawing for a chance to purchase playoff tickets at dodgers.com/postseason. Playoff tickets will not be sold at the Dodger Stadium box office, any ticket outlets or by phone . . . Casey Blake, who missed the last four games because of a tight hamstring, was back in the lineup.

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dylan.hernandez@latimes.com