Dodgers escape after Turner's go-ahead homer

WASHINGTON -- For a brief moment, it was vintage Kenley Jansen. Seven pitches -- five in the form of his money-making cutter -- were thrown for two outs in a close game in the ninth. And it wasn’t like the pitch that unraveled him was egregious -- a 93.1 mph cutter outside the zone for a Trea Turner single -- but it still appeared to shake the usually unflappable closer, who has hit his bumps this season.

After his trademark intentional balk, the ensuing at-bat ended with a hit by pitch. Then Jansen walked two straight batters, one of which scored a run before ultimately getting some strike calls and a whiff of Howie Kendrick to strand the bases loaded and escape with a win via 34 total pitches.

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“The wheels came off, quite frankly,” said manager Dave Roberts.

Friday’s 4-2 win over the Nationals -- powered by a clutch three-run shot in the eighth from Justin Turner -- replayed a familiar tune for Jansen this season. He can still pitch with the best, but he can’t do it alone. He’s a year older. He’s on pace to throw more pitches than he did last season. If the season ended today, his 3.67 ERA would be more than half a run higher than any mark he’s posted in his 10-year career.

“He was one strike away from having a clean inning,” Roberts said. “Then he hit [Adam] Eaton with a cut fastball, and then from that point on he really just couldn't find it. Tonight wasn’t a good night.”

Wednesday's Trade Deadline now sits just five days away. The Dodgers are rumored to be players in what’s expected to be a fluid reliever market. Despite lagging on Friday -- when Nats pitchers held the Dodgers without a baserunner during a stretch of 22 at-bats -- the top-five offense is not the worry. The starting pitching, for its part, tops all 30 teams.

And while their bullpen ERA of 4.02 still ranks in the top 10, the Dodgers’ thirst for high-leverage relievers to ease the burden on Jansen is real.

“I have a ton of confidence in Kenley, but when you start getting the pitch count up and you walk two straight and hit a guy,” Roberts trailed off. “He didn’t have command. I have a lot of confidence, so it was good to see him bear down and make the pitches when he needed to.”

“We’re all so confident in him. We want him to have the ball in the ninth inning,” Turner agreed. “He knows it, and we all think the same way. Wouldn't have it any other way.”

Games like Friday’s October feel in front of 37,491 at Nationals Park are when bullpens are most prevalent. Each starter did not appear like they would last long. The Dodgers got to Anibal Sanchez early, but he was able to rebound. Hyun Jin Ryu fought through 6 2/3, meaning the game would be won in the margins.

Despite Jansen’s stumble, the bullpen had its moments. Ryu loaded the bases in the seventh, and after Alex Verdugo nabbed Gerardo Parra at home plate on what could have been a game-changing second RBI from Eaton, Joe Kelly induced the popup needed to escape and Pedro Baez pitched a scoreless eighth to set up Jansen.

The offense was held to just four runs Friday, making three games in a row with four runs or fewer, thanks in part to Nats pitchers setting down 22 in a row after four of the first five batters reached cleanly to sandwich a Cody Bellinger RBI single.

It also helps any pitching staff to have Verdugo in the outfield. Along with his assist that tracked at 97.7 mph to throw out Parra, the rookie made a Statcast-rated three-star catch down the left-field line to rob Eaton of extra bases to open the sixth.

“I know we’ve talked a lot about Cody and right field with Gold Glove defense,” Roberts said, “but [with Verdugo], you're talking about range and arm strength and accuracy and balls to the gap.”