Red Sox’s Kenley Jansen Shares Motivating Message Amid Playoff Hunt

The Boston Red Sox aren’t counting themselves out of the playoffs just yet.

Kicking off a season-long 10-game road trip in Washington on Tuesday night, the Red Sox did their job and controlled what they could. Boston snagged a win over the Nationals, keeping the American League wild-card deficit at just three games. Plus, with New York’s latest loss, the Yankees continue to fall deeper into their last-place hole in the AL East — giving the Red Sox some added comfort moving forward.

“It’s a great team, man. We have a great team,” Kenley Jansen said, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “People might discounted us, I keep saying that. They might — don’t have respect for us but it’s up to us to be hungry, stay hungry, wanna come in here and keep doing the little things and grind them out. And do the things right and prove ourselves that we’re a playoff team and we’re gonna be there. So, we just gotta keep taking them day-by-day and hopefully everybody stay healthy.”

Jansen, a first-year member of the Red Sox, hasn’t lost confidence in Boston all season long — a constant that’s only identical to his perfect 18-for-18 in save conversions since May 20.

The Red Sox have undergone a rollercoaster, to say the least. There have been struggles on the defensive side and health side of the diamond, both of which hindered Boston throughout the first half of the season. But like Jansen’s consistent frame of mind, the Red Sox continue to battle through the innings left on the season.

The AL East and wild-card race are far from over, therefore, there’s plenty of reason for Jansen’s message to spread amongst those in the clubhouse and out on the field.