Dodgers closer Jansen back with a vengeance
Answers doubters with three big outings vs. Braves
ARLINGTON, Texas — Though Kenley Jansen never lost confidence in himself, the big right-hander might be regaining that from the Los Angeles Dodgers after an inconsistent stretch.
Jansen, pitching for the second consecutive day, earned the save Saturday night with a 1-2-3 ninth inning asthe Dodgers won, 3-1. It was their second victory in a row to even the best-of-seven series at 3-3 and force a Game 7 Sunday night at Globe Life field.
While not in a save situation, Jansen also closed out Game 5 Friday night with a dominating 12-pitch performance in which he struck out the side in a 7-3 win with the Dodgers facing potential elimination. That came two days after another 1-2-3 inning in a midgame appearance in a 15-3 win.
“I feel like if it clicked out there and you know once it clicked, everything is going to comewith it,” Jansen said.
In the ninth inning Friday night, Jansen threw 10 strikes and got three swinging strikeouts. His cutter was consistently in the 92-93 mph range, and Johan Camargo swung and missed on a game-ending 94mph sinker.
“It was as good as I’ve seen in quite some time,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I thought the tempo, I thought the delivery was cleaned up, it was a little bit more smooth. The execution was considerably better. Mixed in some breaking balls, some two-seamers, some cutters, so it was really good.”
The Dodgers’ primary closer since 2012 and their career leader with 312 saves, Jansen had been bypassed with Game 1 of the NLCS tied at 1-1 in the ninth inning which cast some doubt as to his standing in the bullpen.
Jansen said he has had some recent conversations with former pitching coach Rick Honeycutt and former Dodgers standout Charlie Hough. The 33-year-old threetime All-Star, whose velocity had been noticeably down and his control inconsistent, said they went over how his delivery wasn’t the same as it had been when he was dominating hitters.
“They showed me pictures of the past and how everything was working together. And, you know, it wasn’t quite the same,” Jansen said. “And kind of get back to that, to make my delivery simple like it was, and repeat it, and it shows, it showed yesterday.”