LOS ANGELES -- Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Gabriel Moreno, hit in the head by a backswing earlier this week, has not entered the concussion protocol and is expected to play in the team's National League Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
"He has been tested and monitored over the past couple of days and continues to improve and show no symptoms whatsoever," Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said before his team's workout at Dodger Stadium on Friday afternoon. "If something changes in the next, whatever it would be, 18 hours, we would make a change. But tomorrow he will be our starting catcher as of right now."
Game 1 is scheduled for 9:20 p.m. ET Saturday.
Moreno hit the go-ahead home run in the Diamondbacks' victory over the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 1 of their wild-card series Tuesday. But the bat of Brewers second baseman Brice Turang caught the top of Moreno's helmet in the second inning of Wednesday's Game 2, prompting him to get evaluated on the field for several minutes and exit for the start of the third.
He later told reporters that he initially felt "a little bit dizzy" but that his symptoms had improved by the end of the game, a 5-2 Arizona win.
Moreno, acquired alongside Lourdes Gurriel Jr. in the offseason trade that sent Daulton Varsho to the Toronto Blue Jays, has been highly productive on both sides this year, leading major league catchers with 20 defensive runs saved while slashing .284/.339/.408 in 111 regular-season games. Second-year catcher Jose Herrera is his backup.