Dodgers’ Jansen shuts ’ em down
A sense of finality used to permeate at the ballpark whenever Mariano Rivera trotted in from the bullpen, a feeling heightened at Yankee Stadium when his entrance song, the hard rock classic Enter Sandman, blared through the loudspeakers.
Opponents essentially knew the game was over, with the main question being how many bats Rivera would break with his signature cutter.
A similar phenomenon has materialized on the other side of the country, where the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Kenley Jansen has been toiling with Rivera- like efficiency that’s even more evident this postseason, when he has allowed two hits and no earned runs in eight innings. Replace Enter Sandman’ with California Love, Jansen’s warm- up tune, and the sense of doom for opposing hitters is about the same.
Armed with a power cutter and an improved slider, Jansen has become such an imposing figure that once- sacrilegious comparisons to Rivera — the alltime saves leader who will be elected to the Hall of Fame when he becomes eligible after next season — are now considered legitimate.
So says none other than Brian Cashman, the New York Yankees longtime general manager. “He’s a pretty special pitcher in his own right. So, no, I wouldn’t say it’s sacrilegious,” Cashman said. “I think Kenley Jansen is starting to earn that right to have his name come up in those types of conversations. He’s that special.”
And he’ll present a major obstacle for the Houston Astros in their pursuit of the first championship in franchise history as they play the Dodgers in the World Series.
Jansen, 30, led all major league relievers in ERA ( 1.32) and strikeout- to- walk ratio ( 15.57) while tying for the National League lead with 41 saves, blowing just one chance. He held right- handed batters to a .120 batting average, and it just so happens most of Houston’s top hitters — Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, George Springer, Yuli Gurriel and Alex Bregman — swing from that side.
Jansen has been recognized as one of the game’s premier closers for some time now, with back- to- back All- Star Game nods and a five- year, $ 80 million contract signed last offseason that reflects his immense value to the Dodgers.
Since becoming a full- time closer in 2012, the native of Curacao has averaged 37 saves and a 2.07 ERA while striking out 13.7 batters per nine innings. Over the years he has refined his command, to the point he struck out 109 batters while walking just seven in 681⁄ inning. 3
“Everyone knows his ball cuts, but he’s so big and has sort of a long reach; you feel like the ball’s on top of you,” said veteran slugger Matt Holliday, who is 2for- 9 in his career against Jansen. “And he pitches up in the zone so effectively. While a lot of them are balls, it’s really difficult to lay off, because it’s right there at the top of the strike zone, maybe a little bit higher. For a guy who’s got as much movement and velocity in that cutter, he’s got really good command of it.”
And now Jansen is more than a onepitch closer, as the slider and two- seam fastball have become a bit more prominent in his arsenal.
“My go- to pitch is still the cutter. I’m going to die with it out there,” Jansen said of the pitch he now throws about 85% of the time. “But I’m also going to be smart, and to win I’m going to usemy secondary pitches.
“People are not just sitting on one pitch. I keep them on their toes now. It’s already hard for them to fight that cutter, and now I’m going to mess with their timing. That’s what I’ve been doing, slow them down or change the eye levels.”
Like Rivera, Jansen has demonstrated a willingness to go beyond the ninth- inning duties that have become the closer’s typical domain. When Dave Roberts became the Dodgers manager before the 2016 season, he asked Jansen to expand his range, and he responded with five saves of more than three outs. This year that figure grew to 12.
Most memorably, Jansen threw 51 pitches in an epic 21⁄ 3- inning outing that helped secure the Dodgers’ Game 5 victory in their 2016 NL Division Series against the Washington Nationals. In this postseason, he has three saves in three chances — two of more than one inning— and a win.
Roberts said such a weapon forces opponents’ hands.
“Your mind- set’s different when you know you have a guy like that at the back end of the bullpen,” Roberts said. “You don’t know when the manager’s going to use him, so sometimes you have to be a little bit more aggressive than you might like to be, especially in a postseason setting, where we have Kenley potentially for six outs.”
Roberts had another request for Jansen after taking over, urging him to become more of a leader, especially among the relievers.