The Los Angeles Dodgers extended their winning streak to three games on Wednesday with a 3-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Camelback Ranch. After Clayton Kershaw went his scheduled three innings, Kenley Jansen took the mound for his third appearance of the spring.
The right-hander began his night with back-to-back strikeouts of Trayce Thompson and Stephen Vogt. He then allowed a two-out single to Josh VanMeter, who was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double.
For Jansen, the outing was a step in the right direction as his mechanics looked improved. “I think our pitching guys have done a great job adding some consistency to his delivery,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after the game.
“I think the throw, he’s repeating it. The command is back to where it needs to be, the mix of the two-seamer cutter was good, elevation to the fastball was good. I thought tonight was another positive outing for Kenley.”
Prior to Wednesday’s appearance, Jansen had been battling with his mechanics. He most notably hit Zach Reks with a pitch during last week’s live batting practice session.
That led to Jansen taking extra time to complete dry work before getting back into a Major League game.
Jansen nonetheless has been effective in Cactus League play, beginning the year with three scoreless innings. He enjoyed an excellent debut against the Colorado Rockies as he came one strike from an immaculate inning.
The outing marked Jansen’s first since Game 4 of the 2020 World Series when he was charged with a blown save. Jansen then limited the Texas Rangers to one hit in his second appearance of the spring.
Dodgers hopeful Jansen’s velocity will benefit from change in offseason workouts
After a disappointing close to the 2020 season, Jansen entered the offseason with a different approach. He changed his routine with an eye on adding velocity.
“Some of it was the workouts, changing it to be a little bit more athletic. Maybe less bulk, less mass-strength. Just trying to get stuff that’s a little more ballistic and allowing his body to move a little bit freer,” Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior recently explained.
“Those were by design with Kenley and Brandon McDaniel, our performance coach. They had conversations back in October and November. Even in the playoffs, those are things we were talking about.
“He’s getting slightly older, so there’s always constant tweaking, but this was a little more of a focus to bring down the actual amount of weight we’re pushing around and see if we can make it more about how the body is moving and try to clean some of those things up.
“To Kenley’s credit, he was on bored and loved it. … Kenley knows where he’s at. He knows what he needs to do. He’s our closer and he’s been around here a long time, so he knows what he needs to do to help this team win ballgames.”
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, participate in our shows and giveaways, and more!
