Los Angeles Dodgers: Kenley Jansen Prepared for Postseason Workload

Closers don’t typically enter games in the seventh inning and throw over 50 pitches, but the Los Angeles Dodgers prepared Kenley Jansen for these postseason moments throughout the year.

The 2016 postseason is doing a great job of reminding us just how important it is to have a shutdown relief pitcher in your bullpen. Of the 22 playoff games that have taken place so far, a whopping 18 of them have been decided by three runs or fewer. And 11 of those have featured just a one-run margin.

Elite relievers like Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Miller and Kenley Jansen are certainly earning their salaries in October, and their managers haven’t been afraid to deploy them early and often in hopes of locking down those crucial postseason victories.

Facing a do-or-die situation in Game 5 of the NLDS, Los Angeles Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts turned to closer Kenley Jansen in the seventh inning to protect a 4-3 lead. The last time Jansen pitched in the seventh? May 25, 2013. He proceeded to give the team an invaluable 2.1 scoreless innings, giving way to Clayton Kershaw of all people to earn the save by recording the final two outs in the ninth.

It’s wasn’t the smoothest sailing for Jansen, as he issued four walks in the outing. But he also struck out four and most importantly kept the lead intact. When all was said and done, he had thrown 51 pitches on the evening. That’s a few trips to the hill for a closer under typical circumstances. But the postseason is far from typical, as this year has clearly demonstrated. Jansen’s previous career high for pitches thrown in a game was 42, which he tossed in one inning way back on April 2, 2011.

Roberts prepared his closer for this time of year before the season even began. As per FOXSports.com, Roberts said, “In one of our first conversations, I talked about giving him at least a half-dozen one-plus outings so he could prepare for the postseason. He was open to that. As I held up my end of the deal to prepare him, once we got to the postseason, I told him there might be two-inning, six-out situations. He said, ‘Whatever you need.'”

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As Ken Rosenthal notes, Roberts indeed followed through. He used Jansen for more than one inning six times during the regular season. The right-hander had been utilized in a total of four such outings over the previous two years. So far it seems to be paying off handsomely. Aside from last Thursday’s Game 5 marathon, Jansen has been asked to get more than three outs two other times during these playoffs, including a vital two-inning save on Sunday night to even the NLCS at a game apiece with the Cubs.

With the exception of an NLDS Game 3 blowup in which he surrendered four runs in only a third of an inning, Jansen has done his job rather convincingly this October, allowing four hits and racking up 13 strikeouts in 7.1 frames. He’s limited opponents to a .154/.313/.346 slash line while notching three saves. The Dodgers will certainly hope he gets more opportunities in the games ahead.

Of course, Jansen isn’t even the most extreme example of a reliever being relied on heavily in this year’s postseason. Though not being used as a closer, Andrew Miller has gone further than an inning in all five of his playoff appearances for the Cleveland Indians thus far. It’s hard to fault Terry Francona for it either, as Miller has been absolutely dominant even by his standards. Through nine scoreless innings he’s allowed four hits, walked two and struck out a staggering 20 batters.

During the 162-game grind of the regular season, managing a frontline closer can be a balancing act. You want to take advantage of his talents and soak up as many victories as possible, but you don’t want him to run out of steam by the time the calendar turns to September.

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In the postseason, that all pretty much goes out the window. You don’t need to preserve your best relievers for a few months from now, because your season could end at any time. Looking at the remaining teams in the postseason, you know they are going to continue running their top relief arms out there in high-leverage situations. Kenley Jansen is no exception for the Dodgers.