Dodgers' Hiroki Kuroda returns to L.A. to have shoulder examined; Brad Penny put on disabled list.

Kuroda will undergo an MRI exam Wednesday morning and will miss his scheduled start that day in Cincinnati.

Taking Kuroda's place in the rotation will be Derek Lowe, who last pitched on Friday in Detroit. Eric Stults, who was recalled from triple-A Las Vegas to replace Penny on the active roster, will start Thursday. Clayton Kershaw is scheduled to pitch Friday in the Dodgers' series opener at Dodger Stadium against the Cleveland Indians.

If Kuroda is cleared by team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache to immediately resume pitching, he will start on Saturday.

Kuroda didn't seem particularly concerned about his shoulder, which he said first tightened in a loss in Chicago on May 27.

"I was able to throw in the bullpen and in games, and even this time, I could have pitched if I had to," he said.

Kuroda pitched three times since that game in Chicago -- he gave up six runs in 2 2/3 innings in New York, pitched the Dodgers' first complete-game shutout in three seasons at Dodger Stadium against the Cubs, and was pounded for six runs in 2 1/3 innings in San Diego.

Penny underwent an MRI exam on Monday that revealed no structural damage to his shoulder. Winless in his last eight starts and the loser of seven consecutive decisions, he is 5-9 with a 5.88 ERA.

Stults, who has pitched in 18 major-league games over the last two seasons, was 5-6 with a 3.59 earned-run average in 14 starts with Las Vegas. He was 5-2 with a 2.98 ERA away from Las Vegas' hitter-friendly Cashman Field.

dylan.hernandez@latimes.com