NEW YORK -- The first clue that something was wrong with Rafael Furcal came at the end of the first game of Tuesday's doubleheader, when Blake DeWitt stood in the on-deck circle at a time when Furcal should have been there.
The game, which the Los Angeles Dodgers lost 4-0 to the New York Mets at Citi Field, ended right there, so DeWitt never came to the plate.
Furcal, who felt tightness in one of his hamstrings as far back as the seventh inning but remained in defensively for both the seventh and the eighth, missed the second game and probably will miss Wednesday's series finale as well.
"I think it was his left one," Dodgers manager Joe Torre said between games. "He did it running down the first base line on that double-play ball. He said he didn't feel anything tear and that it just felt tight."
And so it goes for the Dodgers, who suddenly are struggling to score runs and can't stay healthy. The team already has three key players on the disabled list, and even if Furcal isn't headed there, it sounds as if he probably won't play at least until the Dodgers get back home to warmer weather Thursday night.
Tony Jackson covers the Dodgers for ESPNLosAngeles.com.