Kenley Jansen

ATLANTA - There is a new-age school of thought that believes teams should use their best relievers the way the Dodgers are using Kenley Jansen - in potentially game-altering situations, often in innings other than the ninth. But Manager Don Mattingly said his decision to use Jansen in this manner is based on his team's needs rather than a desire to revolutionize the modern bullpen. Even with Brandon League struggling, Mattingly has hesitated designating Jansen as the closer because doing so would severely limit his options leading up to the ninth inning.

After watching Brandon League struggle through another tough outing in the series finale with the Miami Marlins, Dodgers Manager Don Mattingly was asked Monday whether the right-hander was still his closer. His answer wasn't exactly a vote of confidence. "Yeah, for now he is," Mattingly said. "I hate to say it like that. But yeah, for now. " League has given up runs in six of his last seven appearances and has just two hitless innings in the last month.

Reporting from Houston — Kenley Jansen repeatedly needed to make one pitch. It never came among the 38 he threw. By the time the Dodgers' fill-in closer walked off the mound Monday night during a disastrous ninth inning, he had secured only two outs and the Houston Astros were celebrating a wild, come-from-behind 4-3 victory at Minute Maid Park. "We couldn't let him go much further as far as pitches," Dodgers Manager Don Mattingly said, "but it was pretty much his game.

This is turning ugly. The Dodgers still can't hit. And now, their bullpen looks vulnerable. They appeared to be on their way to ending a three-game losing streak Tuesday night when setup man Ronald Belisario's control suddenly abandoned him. With two out in the eighth inning, the bases empty and the Dodgers holding a one-run advantage over the Philadelphia Phillies, Belisario walked Chase Utley on four pitches. He then plunked Ryan Howard. Then he hit Carlos Ruiz. Closer Kenley Jansen was called on to make a four-out save but instead served up a two-run single to Hunter Pence that sent the Dodgers to a 3-2 defeat in front of a stunned crowd at Dodger Stadium.

It was evident in the third inning that Clayton Kershaw, at least early on, was not entirely on his game when he served up four consecutive balls and walked the opposing pitcher, Joe Saunders. But Kershaw then settled down and turned in a gem Friday night, throwing seven scoreless innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks and striking out 11 batters. Kershaw left with a 4-0 lead, which Dodgers relievers Matt Guerrier and Vicente Padilla nearly squandered. But the Dodgers held on to edge the Diamondbacks, 4-3, in the opener of their three-game series at Dodger Stadium, handing Arizona its fifth consecutive loss.

DENVER — Kenley Jansen might be finished for the season and, by extension, so might be the Dodgers. Jansen was unavailable to close out the Dodgers' 10-8 victory over the last-place Colorado Rockies on Wednesday because of issues related to a heart problem that sidelined him for nearly a month last year, Manager Don Mattingly said. So, although the high-priced offense came into form and Matt Kemp said he could be back in the lineup as early as Thursday, the Dodgers suffered a major blow to an already unstable part of their team that Mattingly has called the most crucial to their success: pitching.

Reporting from Houston — Kenley Jansen's epic ninth-inning meltdown transformed Andre Ethier from hero to footnote. After being held out of the starting lineup Monday against Houston at Minute Maid Park in the wake of his collision with an outfield fence the previous day, Ethier stepped to the plate as a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning with the score tied and two runners on base. Astros starter Bud Norris badly fooled Ethier with his first two pitches, a pair of sliders that Ethier swung and missed.

Everyone knew the Dodgers granting the starting third base job to Luis Cruz in the off-season was iffy material. The Dodgers too. Cruz, though, had earned the spot. He forced their hand with solid play. Cruz came out of seemingly nowhere in the second half last season to hit .298 with six homers and 40 RBI in 283 at-bats. The Dodgers hoped they had uncovered a late bloomer, Cruz having mostly bounced around the minors for 11 seasons. Qualifiers in hand, they crossed their fingers and said he was their starting third baseman.

Brian Wilson might want to pitch for the Dodgers, but it appears the interest isn't mutual. The colorful and magnificently bearded closer wasn't tendered a contract for next season by the San Francisco Giants, making him a free agent. Wilson lives in Los Angeles in the off-season, and the Dodgers are among the teams with which he would like to sign, according to multiple reports. Though the Dodgers won't publicly comment on free agents, people familiar with team officials' thinking say they aren't looking to sign Wilson.

How the Dodgers look BATTING ORDER Player Name; Pos.; B/T; 2012 ave.; comment 1. Mark Ellis; 2B; R/R; .258; Absence of true leadoff hitter pushes him to the top of the order. 2. Carl Crawford; LF; L/R; .282; Recovering from elbow operation that limited him to 31 games. 3. Matt Kemp; CF; R/R; .303; Recovering from shoulder surgery; one of baseball's best players when healthy. 4. Adrian Gonzalez; 1B; L/L; .299; Drove in 108 runs in what was considered a sub-par season.