The Los Angeles Dodgers snapped a four-game losing streak on Sunday behind Kyle Farmer’s game-winning, RBI double in the 10th inning. Perhaps more significant, however, was Kenley Jansen’s redemption on the mound.
After two rough appearances to kick off his 2018 campaign, Jansen successfully recorded his first save of the season to cement the Dodgers’ victory against the San Francisco Giants. The 30-year-old yielded just one infield single while striking out the side in a scoreless inning.
Following the win, Jansen joked that he can finally rest with ease after picking up his first save, via Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
“Finally I can sleep tonight, to be honest and true with you,” Jansen said of getting his (and the Dodgers’) first save of the season.
Clayton Kershaw, who allowed just one run over seven innings on Sunday, was thrilled for Jansen and praised him for cementing the Dodgers’ return to the win column:
“That was Kenley right there,” Kershaw said. “I was watching on the TV in here (the Dodgers’ locker room). The ball had life. The two-seamer was disgusting to Crawford to strike him out. That was the Kenley we expect. That was big for us.”
Another encouraging sign in Sunday’s appearance was Jansen’s average cutter velocity. It topped out in the mid-90s after previously struggling to register high velocities during the first week of the season.
Jansen insisted that he was healthy, and was confident the radar gun would soon begin showing his progression on the mound. Even if it was just one inning, that Jansen demonstrated he can still pitch at his usual velocity was an encouraging sign.
