The Los Angeles Dodgers suffered another heartbreaking loss on Monday night, blowing a 2-1 lead in the ninth inning and falling to the San Francisco Giants, 5-2, at Dodger Stadium.
It was the Dodgers bullpen that imploded again without closer Kenley Jansen, but another noticeable absence in the ninth inning was Brian Dozier, who wasn’t at his usual second base with a groundball pitcher in Scott Alexander on the mound.
After the game, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts revealed that Dozier was removed from the game due to dizziness and underwent an EKG test, via Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times:
Dave Roberts said Brian Dozier came out with dizziness and had an EKG.
— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) August 14, 2018
It is too early to say how long, if at all, Dozier will be out for. An EKG (electrocardiogram) test is used to detect the electrical activity of the heart, and Roberts said that Dozier’s results were abnormal so he will undergo further testing.
Dozier went 1-for-4 before being removed from the game and has been one of the Dodgers hottest hitters since being acquired from the Minnesota Twins before the non-waiver trade deadline. So if he is forced to miss an extended period of time then that will be another big blow for an already injury-plagued club.
The Dodgers would have the depth to replace him, but losing one of your best hitters in the midst of a pennant race would obviously not be ideal.
In addition to Dozier, the Dodgers are also due to be without fellow deadline-day acquisition John Axford. Roberts revealed the veteran relief pitcher sustained a fractured fibula when he was struck by a comebacker in Sunday’s series finale against the Colorado Rockies.
