The Dodgers were three outs away from claiming their seventh win in 10 games. They had coasted through the game with a lead since the first inning. Then a five-run Dodgers lead nearly unraveled.

Kenley Jansen, the Dodgers’ veteran closer, was the force that thwarted the comeback to preserve a 5-3 win over the Rangers at Dodger Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Facing a bases-loaded, no-out situation, Jansen retired three straight batters to escape.

• Box score

“I always stay ready and it's a crazy game,” Jansen told SportsNet LA during a postgame interview. “... Definitely got to stay focused and whenever my name gets called, just try to come and help my team win.”

At the start of the ninth, right-hander Phil Bickford was given the ball to finish out the game with a five-run lead. Bickford faced four batters but couldn’t record an out as Brock Holt led off with a line-drive double and Bickford proceeded to give up a walk and two singles to the next three batters.

A game the Dodgers had in hand was slipping out of their grasp. On came Jansen, who took over with runners on the corners and the score 5-2.

“It's tough to win a baseball game, and today, to be quite honest, I don't think we played a very good baseball game,” manager Dave Roberts said. “[But] we came away with the win. Kenley came up big for us.”

That he did, but the remainder of the inning wasn’t necessarily a clean outing for the reliever who has struggled with velocity and command in the past couple of seasons.

On Jansen’s first pitch of the game, Willie Calhoun notched an RBI single that cut the Dodgers’ lead to 5-3. Adolis García was Jansen’s second batter and represented the go-ahead run for the Rangers. Jansen fired five sinkers and a cutter in an at-bat that ended with a bases-loading line drive to center field.

The pressure dialed up for the 33-year-old Jansen. He was able to beat the next two batters, as both Joey Gallo and Nate Lowe popped out in the infield.

Jansen’s final battle was against Nick Solak in a nine-pitch at-bat.

Jansen earned two called strikes to put the Dodgers one strike away from ending the game. But Solak fouled off sliders, sinkers and cutters while extending the at-bat. On pitch No. 9, Jansen went to the cutter.

Solak’s barrel made weak contact that resulted in a bouncer to second baseman Chris Taylor.

“I just try to calm it down and make pitches. Credit to the Rangers, they battled. They made me work today,” Jansen said of the high-stakes situation. “I stuck with it and battled and used my best pitch.”