Kenley Jansen Continues Road Excellence For Red Sox

Kenley Jansen has more than delivered to be the first true closer that the Red Sox have had in years.

The veteran closer locked down his 29th save of the season in Sunday’s thrilling 6-5 victory over the New York Yankees to complete the series sweep.

The right-hander stayed perfect in road save opportunities in a game the Red Sox had to have since the Toronto Blue Jays and the Seattle Mariners, both teams ahead of Boston in the wild card standings, won their respective contests.

The Yankees stayed persistent against the talented Red Sox bullpen on Sunday, including a game-tying home run from Anthony Volpe off of John Schreiber and a go-ahead single off Chris Martin that was later overturned.

As a result, the path to another key save would not be easy for Jansen. Greg Allen led off the ninth inning with a double that missed going over the right field wall for a walk-off home run. Jansen then hit DJ Lemahieu to put two runners on with no outs.

The Boston closer then pumped 96 mph past both Aaron Judge and Gleyber Torres for a pair of crucial strikeouts.

With two outs and two strikes, Jansen forced Ben Rortvedt to fly out to deep center as the Red Sox held on for the victory.

“I just had to make my pitch,” Jansen said after the win, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “It’s just experience, man. I think experience takes over.

“You can’t be stubborn,” Jansen explained. “I know I can throw my cutter in any situation. By me being out there for so long, you learn from mistakes. I made sure it didn’t happen in that situation.”

As the playoff race continues, Jansen further proves how valuable a lockdown closer can be at the back of the bullpen.