Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said prior to Game 5 of the 2016 National League Division Series that Clayton Kershaw was not available under any circumstances. Kershaw had thrown 6.2 innings a mere two days prior.
A few hours after Roberts’ remarks, Kershaw entered to earn the first save of his career and closed out the series against the Washington Nationals. On Saturday, Roberts said Kenley Jansen was unavailable because of throwing two scoreless innings the night prior.
Yet, there Jansen was on the mound in the bottom of the ninth inning. Much like Kershaw last year, Jansen informed Roberts he was capable of pitching if circumstances dictated it, according to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com:
“I just told Doc [that] if something crazy happens, I’ll be mentally ready,” Jansen said of his conversation with Roberts.
While Roberts hoped to stay away from his right-handed closer, he trusted Jansen’s assertion and took into account recent usage:
“He said his arm felt good and for me, I trust him,” said Roberts. “The last 10 days, he’s been used three times. His usage is down — granted, two innings last night — but if there was a save opportunity, we wanted to use him. He said he felt good enough to close the game and I took him at his word.”
Rich Hill only managed to complete four innings, which put Roberts in a difficult position. Pedro Baez was also needed for two innings in Friday’s 12th-inning win. Ross Stripling, Chris Hatcher, Josh Fields and Brandon Morrow all pitched prior to Jansen on Saturday.
The Dodgers’ improbable five-run ninth inning, highlighted by Chris Taylor’s third career grand slam, certainly qualified for the “something crazy” Jansen was prepared for. In the process of converting a ninth save this season, Jansen extended his MLB record of strikeouts without a walk to 40.
