The Los Angeles Dodgers cruised to their fourth consecutive victory on Tuesday, defeating the Texas Rangers, 8-4, in the opener of a two-game Interleague series at Globe Life Park.
While offense was aplenty, the Dodgers leaned heavily on their bullpen after Walker Buehler was removed just four innings into his start. The relief corps held their own, keeping Texas scoreless until the ninth inning, when closer Kenley Jansen endured another rough appearance.
Jansen was tabbed for three hits, two runs and one walk in his inning of work. It marked the fourth consecutive appearance in which he yielded a run, as he’s noticeably struggled since being activated from the 10-day disabled list last week.
After the game, Jansen again expressed optimism that he’ll eventually return to the form and noted that he felt much better since scrapping his prescribed heart medication, via Ken Gurnick of MLB.com:
“Listen, I’ll be all right. I’ll figure it out. At some point, I’ll figure it out. I was a little amped up today. My command wasn’t there. But I have confidence in myself. I’ll figure it out.
“I definitely feel amped up today,” Jansen said. “The first three games, feel like sleepwalking, no adrenaline. Today, adrenaline all through the roof. Amped up and feel good. The command wasn’t there, but looking forward to next time I’m out there.
Jansen decided to drop the aforementioned heart medication after feeling groggy in his first three appearances off the DL, so the fact that he felt more energetic on Tuesday is certainly a positive development.
While Jansen has struggled as of late, he remains motivated by a competitive National League West race that saw the Dodgers close the gap to a mere one game behind the first-place Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies.
