Jansen falters in the 9th before Boston's walk-off loss in extras

LOS ANGELES -- The Red Sox were just three outs away from what would have been a highly satisfying victory on Saturday when Kenley Jansen, the longtime former Dodger, trotted in from the bullpen and back to the mound that was his home office.

Jansen came through in countless big situations at Dodger Stadium as a home player and was hoping to do so again as a visitor to lift his team after a tough late-inning loss on Friday night.

But Kiké Hernández, Jansen’s teammate in both Los Angeles and Boston, ruined his day by jumping on a 2-2 cutter and depositing it for an equalizing solo shot to left to lead off the bottom of the ninth inning. Instead of a big win, the Red Sox wound up taking a crushing 7-6 loss in 11 innings.

For Jansen, it was just his second blown save in 21 chances this season, and his first since April 16.

“Nothing you can do about it,” said Jansen. “Just one pitch. He kind of got it and [there’s] nothing you can do about it. I just tried to keep the team in the game, and that’s it. It’s one hit.”

By keeping the game tied, Jansen bought time for Tyler O'Neill to have his second two-run homer of the day, a blast that put the Red Sox back up, 6-4, in the top of the 10th.

“It’s a team sport, and he picked me up in that situation,” said Jansen. “Kiké had two great at-bats and that’s what beat us today.”

Yes, the homer off Jansen wasn’t Hernández’s only huge hit of the day. The one in the bottom of the 10th was perhaps even more painful for Boston.

Greg Weissert, who was on in relief with the Red Sox up by a run, needed just one strike to end the game and put his team in the winner’s circle.

But Hernández smacked a 3-2 sweeper into center to tie it again.

“Not surprised,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of Hernández’s late-game heroics. “Ten years in the big leagues today. Too bad [that] I sent him a good bottle of wine over there so now he can celebrate. But he is who he is. Even when he's struggling, he's a threat. He did it against us last year when we traded him. He’s done it throughout his career.”

In one final effort to stave off defeat, Cora played with a five-man infield with the bases loaded and one out in the 11th. The blockade didn’t work, as Will Smith stung one into center for a single and the Dodgers walked off victorious.

Weissert pitched the 10th and 11th at a time when Boston’s bullpen is thin on the right side, with Chris Martin and Justin Slaten both on the injured list with right elbow woes.

“It’s where we’re at in the bullpen. [Zack] Kelly's down [Saturday],” Cora said. “We’ve still got four games in this road trip, so we’ve got to be careful with all of them.”

The second straight tough loss coming out of the All-Star break for Boston dropped the club to 6 1/2 games back in the American League East. The Sox are tied with the Royals for the third Wild Card spot after going into the break with a two-game lead.

“They’re all difficult, but we turn the page and we’ll be ready for [Sunday],” said Cora.

O'Neill's power show
If not for the struggles from the bullpen, O’Neill would have been the story of Saturday for the Red Sox.

In the top of the seventh, O’Neill lifted his team out of a 3-2 deficit, mashing a Statcast-projected 399-foot missile deep into the seats in left to give Boston back the lead at 4-3.

O’Neill really savored that one, flipping his bat aside and enjoying the view for another second or so before going into his home run trot.

His go-ahead homer in the 10th was a rocket to center off Evan Phillips that traveled 406 feet.

With the eighth multihomer game of his career, O’Neill figured to sleep much better than after Friday’s 4-1 loss, when he lost his bearings on the bases and got doubled off first in a critical situation.

“I’ve already moved on from yesterday and not thinking about it,” O’Neill said. “You have to have a short memory in this game. Rinse and repeat. It was good to find a couple of barrels out there. Unfortunately, we couldn’t come through late and pull it off as a team.”