Jansen riding dominant stretch into NLDS

SAN FRANCISCO -- It was only 2 1/2 months ago that Kenley Jansen blew a couple of saves against the Giants at Dodger Stadium. Only 2 1/2 months ago that Jansen was serenaded with boos after he'd allowed seven runs in those two outings. Only 2 1/2 months ago that questions arose as to whether Jansen really was the Dodgers’ best option at closer.

Sure feels like an eternity ago, doesn't it?

Since then, Jansen has been one of the sport's most dominant closers. Which is to say, Jansen has been precisely what he's been for the majority of his remarkable 12-year career in Los Angeles.

"Those are two weird outings, to be honest with you," Jansen said Thursday afternoon, as the Dodgers prepare to open their National League Division Series in San Francisco tonight. "I don't want to keep looking back on it. It was just weird."

Weird, indeed, considering what the rest of Jansen's 2021 has looked like. In his first six outings after the All-Star break, including those two against San Francisco, he allowed 10 earned runs. He allowed just seven over the entire season otherwise, finishing with a 2.22 ERA and 38 saves.

"Kenley has been fantastic for us all year," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said late last month. "Every player -- position or pitcher -- is going to have a couple rough stretches. It happened to Kenley right after the break, but outside of that, he’s been fantastic and probably more consistent than any closer in the big leagues. I don't want to imagine where we would be without him."

Soon enough, the Dodgers might be asking themselves that very question. Jansen is in the final year of the five-year deal he signed with Los Angeles after the 2016 season. It's a very real possibility this is Jansen's last October with Los Angeles.

That's not a possibility Jansen has begun to wrap his head around.

"I'm not there yet, to be honest with you," Jansen said. "All I'm thinking is: Win one game, and try to win another championship here in Los Angeles. So that's where the mindset is right now. Those times and moments will come when it needs to come."

At the very least, Jansen helped avoid that topic with his performance in Wednesday night’s Wild Card Game. He pitched the top of the ninth inning, allowing only a bloop single and striking out the side.

Jansen punctuated his outing with a high cutter to punch out Tyler O'Neill. He hopped off the mound and pounded his chest five times. Dodger Stadium erupted around him. Vintage Jansen.

But it was the punchout of Paul Goldschmidt one batter prior that showed the evolution Jansen has undergone. Once, he threw cutters almost exclusively. Now? Still plenty of cutters -- but with a dash of two-seamers, and a looping slider he uses in just the right moments.

That evolution is a product of two subpar seasons for Jansen (at least by his own standards). He posted a 3.71 ERA in 2019 and a 3.33 mark in '20, the two highest of his career. So Jansen -- with an arsenal that had already earned him more than 300 saves in Los Angeles -- changed the foundations of his pitch mix.

If anything, Goldschmidt's at-bat proved just how substantive that change was. The Dodgers' season was on the line. The go-ahead run was at second base. The Cardinals' best hitter was at the plate. Jansen was confident enough to throw his slider -- and throw it in the strike zone, no less. Goldschmidt, fooled, could only watch as strike three darted over the outer half.

"You learn from when you have to deal with adversity," Jansen said. "Knowing I didn't have my best two years the last couple of years ... you just know the situation and how to use [my cutter] better. That's what I feel like. I'm a more experienced pitcher now, instead of being stubborn out there and just dying with one pitch."

After 11 seasons in Los Angeles, Jansen finally earned that elusive World Series ring in 2020. But it came with a catch, the type of thing that would gnaw at any great closer. Jansen -- perhaps the greatest closer in Dodgers history -- was available to finish Game 6 against the Rays. But he didn't get the call. Julio Urías nailed it down instead.

The way Jansen is pitching right now, however, there's no one the Dodgers would rather have on the mound for the ninth inning. And with a few more ninth innings like Wednesday night -- who knows? -- maybe Jansen gets the chance he’s been so desperately craving, after all.