Red Sox’s Kenley Jansen Called Own Shot In Win Against Yankees

BOSTON — The Red Sox didn’t have a bad night on the mound by any stretch of the imagination, but Saturday was no walk in the park.

It’s kind of just how things go against the New York Yankees.

Boston was eventually able to capture an 8-4 win, but not before heaping tons of stress on the sold-out crowd at Fenway Park. Cooper Criswell, Justin Slaten and Greg Weissert all had a hand in it, continuously allowing New York to reach base before eventually getting out of (or being bailed out of) jams.

It was stressful for just about everyone on the home side, so Kenley Jansen made the executive decision to wrap things up.

“The big man called in the middle of the eight,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora revealed postgame. “He made the call. I didn’t make the call. He said, ‘I’m in it.'”

Jansen didn’t need much time to put a bow on things, killing any and all suspense by forcing Anthony Volpe to fly out to end the eighth inning — stranding Gleyber Torres and DJ LeMahieu. It didn’t get any more interesting in the ninth, as the 36-year-old made quick work of Juan Soto, Aaron Judge and Alex Verdugo to secure his 431st career save.

“You gotta find a way to slow this game down,” Jansen told FOX’s Ken Rosenthal postgame. “It’s an unbelievable lineup over there, so you got to give them credit, but at the same time I know what my best pitch is. I just gotta go out there and do work.”

The Red Sox were able to tack on a pair of insurance runs between Jansen’s appearances in the eighth and ninth innings, but that wasn’t at top of mind for the future Hall of Fame closer.

“It’s great and all, but at the same time you’re locked in,” Jansen said. “… It don’t matter what the score is. I just gotta go out there and — those guys can put four, five, six runs up in an inning. You gotta respect them, and just go out there and go to work.”

Jansen hasn’t pitched to the same consistent level as he has in past seasons, but the work has not changed. Boston sees the effort he puts in each and every day, and got some results to show for it Saturday.

“He’s in a good spot physically and mentally,” Cora said. “I know people criticized him early in the season, but you see him every day. You see the work he puts in. He’s into it. He wants to help us win, and he’s obviously shooting for a lot of stuff — the more saves he gets, the closer he is to Cooperstown — but right now he’s in the moment. We appreciate that… He’s been amazing.”