Fate of Dodgers' Jansen's will be decided Tuesday
The reeling Los Angeles Dodgers, who lost again Friday night, won't know until Tuesday whether closer Kenley Jansen is cleared to pitch again after a recurrence of his heart condition.
Jansen was hospitalized on Tuesday in Colorado with an irregular heartbeat, the same malady that caused him to miss a month in 2011. Jansen will meet with team physicians on Tuesday to find out if he can pitch again this year.
"We don't know what's going to happen with Kenley on Tuesday. They could tell us he could get ready to pitch or that he's no longer available," manager Don Mattingly said before the Dodgers lost to Arizona,, 4-3 in 11 innings.
Jansen is 5-3 with a 2.54 ERA and 25 saves for the Dodgers this year and has a whopping 86 strikeouts in 56 2/3 innings.
Jansen pitched a bullpen session at Dodger Stadium on Friday, but because he took blood-thinning medication he cannot yet risk pitching in a game.
"(Jansen) can do everything pretty much that everyone else can do, but he can't do it while they're out there," Mattingly said. "He can't risk the chance of getting hit by a ball."
The earliest Jansen could pitch for the Dodgers is September 7 against the Giants in San Francisco. But if he gets bad news on Tuesday, Jansen could be out until 2013, which would be a huge blow for the Dodgers.
