Just a week ago, news broke that the irregular heartbeat had returned for Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen and initial estimates were that he would miss at least a month, maybe longer. On Thursday, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts dropped a bit of a bombshell on the Rich Eisen Show (Audience Network, DirecTV channel 239):
For those who can't listen to audio, here you go:
"Kenley is in a good place," Roberts said. "There's a cardiologist appointment on the 20th and hopefully we get the green light from there."
Roberts also said that Jansen has been staying in pitching shape and he could "absolutely" be back sooner than expected. It appears the best-case scenario here is Jansen pitching on Monday when the Dodgers host the Cardinals in a bout with wild-card implications.
The Dodgers are also in the NL West race, entering Thursday 1 1/2 games back of the Diamondbacks.
Without Jansen, the Dodgers' bullpen blew or lost five straight games before Wednesday's extra innings win. Of course, it took a blown save and that's why the game required extras, too.
Jansen, 30, is tied for the NL lead with 32 saves (only three blown saves). He has a 2.15 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 61 strikeouts in 54 1/3 innings. He got off to a rocky start, but has a 1.27 ERA and is 28 of 29 in save chances in his last 39 outings.
