The Los Angeles Dodgers rallied to overcome a 3-0 deficit in the sixth inning and defeat the Washington Nationals in the finale of a three-game set, cementing their second consecutive series victory after sweeping the San Diego Padres last week.
The win improved the Dodgers’ record to 10-10, marking the first time all season they’ve reached .500. Furthermore, the club has won six of its last seven contests and now find themselves just 4.5 games behind the first-place Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League West.
Kenley Jansen recorded his third save of the season on Sunday, but it wasn’t without a few hiccups along the way. He yielded back-to-back singles to begin the appearance, but retired the next three batters to strand the tying and go-ahead runs on base.
After the game, Jansen was frustrated with the base hits he allowed and conceded the early-season struggles have tested his patience, via Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
“Annoying. Annoying,” Jansen said of the two singles. “This game is testing my patience right now.”
Jansen’s save marked just the second time all season he appeared in back-to-back games. On Saturday, he issued just a two-out walk in what was an otherwise scoreless and encouraging inning of work.
What’s more, Jansen’s velocity has continued to trend in the right direction as of late. On Sunday, he struck out Nationals pinch-hitter Andrew Stevenson with a 93 mph cutter and added another one in the form of Trea Turner, who was caught looking for the penultimate out.
Jansen believes his strong showing against the Nationals over the weekend could be the true beginning to his season, especially after uncharacteristically struggling for the early part of April.
