Alzolay experiences brief, ‘weird’ dizzy spell after start originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Promising young Cubs starter Adbert Alzolay looked in command for five innings Wednesday against the Dodgers.
But after leaving the mound in the fifth inning, he experienced dizziness in the dugout that caused enough concern for him to be taken inside to be examined and tested by the medical staff before the dizziness — and concern — passed.
“It was weird. It was like for 20 seconds,” said Alzolay. “My eyes were a little bit blurry for like five seconds when the pitching coach was talking to me. But I was fine.”
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After running through a few tests, Alzolay said the team doctor told him “it was probably adrenaline going on, that it got to my head.”
He said it was the first time he’d experienced something like that but said after the game he felt “normal” and that “everything’s fine.”
Manager David Ross said he didn’t plan to send Alzolay back to the mound for the sixth regardless but was going to let him hit to keep from spending a bench player on an at-bat after Jake Marisnick tied the game with a two-out, two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth.
Coming off his best start of his young career, Alzolay retired 11 of the first 12 he faced Wednesday, including all seven of his strikeouts for the night.
A two-out homer by Max Muncy in the fourth and a pair of hits, including a one-out double by Gavin Lux, in the fifth scored another Dodger run against him.
With his fifth start of the season, Alzolay has made more starts this year than any pitcher signed and developed by farm system has in a season for the Cubs since Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer took over baseball operations before the 2012 season.
Alzolay, who didn’t get the decision in the Cubs’ 6-5, 11-inning victory Wednesday, has allowed just four runs in his last two starts (3.27 ERA).
“I feel really good,” he said of his rising confidence level. “I’m putting a lot of trust on [catcher Willson Contreras]. … Overall, I feel that we execute the game plan that we have before the game.”
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