Alex Cora Has This Hope For Kenley Jansen After Striking Out Mike Trout

BOSTON — Alex Cora is hopeful Red Sox reliever Kenley Jansen will build on his pressure-packed situation against Mike Trout.

Jansen, who got the ball for the ninth inning of Boston’s eventual 5-4 win over the Los Angeles Angels at Fenway Park on Sunday, faced Trout with two outs and two runners in scoring position. After Jansen hit the first batter he faced, allowed a hit and walked another, the 36-year-old veteran needed to win his 1-on-1 matchup in a one-run game.

Jansen proceeded to throw six cutters, his velocity up to 95 mph, and struck out arguably the best hitter in baseball for the game-winning out.

“Hopefully that at-bat against Mike (Trout) gets him locked in, and we’ll go from there,” Cora after the win. “You see the velocity was there, I think it was 94 and the cutter was great. He got the three outs, we won the series. We move on.”

It was a situation Jansen enjoyed.

Jansen, who criticized the quality of the baseballs after the game, now has four saves in six appearances this season. However, he has not been at his best. Jansen has allowed eight walks in 5 2/3 innings with nine strikeouts. In his performance against the Orioles on April 11, Jansen allowed Baltimore to mount a comeback en route to an extra-innings win.

Cora acknowledged how Jansen is fighting his delivery, but nevertheless, the group remains confident in the four-time All-Star.

“He’s still Kenley Jansen,” Cora said. “I bet half a million people out there would walk Mike Trout, but not this guy. He’s fifth on the list in (all-time) saves. He’s one of the best players in the world, but we trust him (Jansen). That last at-bat was really good for us.”

Much like Jansen individually, the Red Sox will try to keep the momentum going with a Patriots’ Day matchup against the Cleveland Guardians at Fenway Park on Monday. First pitch is scheduled for 11:10 a.m. ET, and you can watch it live on NESN after an hour of pregame coverage.