LOS ANGELES _ Kenley Jansen, sidelined since Aug. 9 because of symptoms related to an irregular heartbeat, was cleared to pitch after a follow-up visit with his cardiologist on Monday, providing a huge boost to a Los Angeles Dodgers bullpen that has floundered in the absence of its dominant closer.
Relievers blew late-game leads in seven straight games from Aug. 9 through last Wednesday, with the Dodgers losing five of those games and dropping out of first place in the National League West. And on Saturday night in Seattle, Dylan Floro balked in the winning run in the 10th inning of a 5-4 loss to the Mariners.
The Dodgers entered Monday night's game against the St. Louis Cardinals with 23 blown saves, tied with Colorado for the second-most in the major leagues.
The return of Jansen will allow the team to push converted starter Kenta Maeda and left-hander Scott Alexander, who had been sharing closing duties, to set-up roles and relievers Pedro Baez, J.T. Chargois, Caleb Ferguson, Zac Rosscup and Floro to lower-leverage roles.
The Dodgers feared Jansen might be sidelined for four to six weeks when the right-hander was rushed to a hospital in an ambulance after suffering another episode of atrial fibrillation after eating breakfast in Denver on Aug. 9.
Jansen missed a month of the 2011 season and three weeks of 2012 after being prescribed blood thinners for similar heart-related conditions, and he resumed taking the medication after doctors shocked his heart back to normal.
But Jansen returned to the clubhouse four days later, full of his usual smiles and laughter. He threw an inning off the Dodger Stadium mound last Wednesday and another simulated inning in Seattle on Friday. He said he felt no recurrence of symptoms related to his irregular heartbeat.
Jansen, who converted 32 of 35 save opportunities and had a 2.15 ERA in 51 games before going on the disabled list for only the second time since he became the team's full-time closer in 2012, was cleared after undergoing a stress test and several other exams on Monday.
This was not the first time Jansen's heart started racing in the mile-high altitude of Denver, but Jansen has no plans to avoid Colorado. The Dodgers return to Coors Field for a three-game series against the Rockies beginning Sept. 7.
While altitude can trigger atrial fibrillation, Jansen said doctors told him that dehydration could too. Jansen said he had diarrhea in Oakland the day before the Dodgers played in Colorado and suspected his body might have been depleted of minerals and fluids.
"I'm going back to Denver, man," Jansen said last week. "Can't be scared of life."
Jansen said there is a "very high percentage" he will need a second ablation surgery this winter, repeating the one he had six years ago. That procedure requires an estimated recovery time of three months.
