The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Colorado Rockies in Game 163 to earn their sixth straight National League West championship on Monday afternoon, although the win did not come easy.
The Dodgers were leading 5-0 going into the ninth inning with All-Star closer Kenley Jansen coming in, so many essentially considered the game to be over.
Jansen’s outing got off to a rocky start though when he threw a cutter right down the middle to Nolan Arenado to lead off the inning and he hit it for a solo home run. Trevor Story followed and worked a 3-2 count against Jansen.
This time Jansen made a better pitch, a cutter low and away, but Story put a good swing on the ball to homer to right-center field and suddenly the Dodgers’ lead was cut to 5-2 before Jansen recorded a single out.
Jansen then went on to get the next three hitters out to complete the victory, but he has struggled for much of the 2018 season, giving up a career-high 13 home runs.
Despite the struggles, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts remains confident in him and doesn’t plan to make a change at closer for the National League Division Series, via Ken Gurnick of MLB.com:
“If we get to where we want to go, we’re going to need Kenley,” Roberts said of his inconsistent closer. “My confidence in him hasn’t changed.”
Dodgers pitching coach Rick Honeycutt, who has worked closer with Jansen than anyone in the righty’s career, echoed Roberts’ thoughts:
“Kenley will be fine,” Honeycutt said. “For a closer, it’s hard when the game is not on the line. Just a different mindset and adrenaline. … He hates [giving up the home runs], but he’s our man. We’re only going to get where we want to get with him. We need him to peak right now.”
Jansen has been a big part of the Dodgers’ postseason success the last few years, often recording saves of more than three outs. Given the depth in the team’s bullpen this year, that may not be asked of him this time around which should help take some pressure off him going into the postseason.
