After taking three of four games from the Arizona Diamondbacks last weekend, the Los Angeles Dodgers now begin another key National League West series, this time facing the first-place Colorado Rockies.
They’ll play the three-game set at Coors Field without All-Star closer Kenley Jansen, who did not travel with the team. Although Jansen previously declared he would return to Denver, the timing wasn’t right.
It was during the Dodgers’ last visit that he suffered another episode of an irregular heartbeat, which forced Jansen to the 10-day disabled list. Although he made a speedy return, doctors recommended that the right-hander skip this trip.
The decision was made out of concern the high altitude could cause more trouble for Jansen and potentially result in him missing a significant amount of time. There is also Jansen’s personal wellbeing life and to take into account, which he acknowledged he must remain mindful of.
Nonetheless, the 30-year-old believes he is capable of pitching again at Coors Field, perhaps as early as October if the teams were to meet in the postseason, via Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times:
And if the Dodgers are paired with the Rockies at any point in the postseason, Jansen said he would “definitely” travel to Colorado.
If the Dodgers and Rockies are to meet in the postseason, scenarios include possibly doing so in the NL Wild Card Game, NL Division Series or NL Championship Series. After the Diamondbacks and Rockies met in last year’s Wild Card Game, the Dodgers faced Arizona in the NLDS.
Though, the Chicago Cubs have the best record in the NL and primed to face the winner of the Wild Card Game. The Dodgers could find themselves in the one-game playoff for the first time since its inception. They currently are two games back of the second Wild Card spot.
Meanwhile, after facing the Rockies this weekend, Los Angeles will reunite with Jansen as their 10-game road trip carries forward with stops in Cincinnati and St. Louis.
