Unless you’ve been on another planet lately (or just threw in the towel on him), you are probably very well aware that Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen appears to be back to his true dominating self – and not a moment too soon, with his team trying to win home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. And don’t think for one second that the soon-to-be (on September 30) 32-year-old Curaçao isn’t aware of just how important this is.

“It’s very important,” Jansen told reporters after Tuesday night’s three hour and 43 minute-long game against the American League Wild Card hopeful Tampa Bay Rays in which eight pitchers were used by each team. “Just to be in front of your fans, less travel, it’s great. It would be awesome. It’s more comfortable playing here for all of us”

But perhaps the best news is that the 6′-5″ / 265-pound gentle giant, who now has 30 saves for the sixth consecutive season, apparently found and fixed whatever it was that led to his rough patch and is feeling the best that he has all season.

“This is the best I’ve felt the whole year,” said Jansen. “It took me longer this year … Too long. But everything happens for a good reason. Just learn from it, look forward and not back. It wasn’t the easiest one this year. It’s not going to get easier going through postseason”

Make no mistake about it, Jansen heard the boos from Dodger fans while he was struggling. But what may come as a surprise to you is that he not only understands why they were booing him but actually knows deep down that he is loved by them.

“Even when you hear some boos, I understand,” Jansen explained. “They see me always at a high standard, and I want to see myself there, too. I know they will have my back. It’s nothing personal.”

I mean, who says that, right?

Not only did Jansen pick up his 30th save for the sixth consecutive season on Tuesday night, but it was a four-out save at that in the Dodgers eventual 7-5 win. It also saw action from ‘opener’ Caleb Ferguson, who was followed by Messers Julio Urías, Dylan Floro, Ross Stripling, Pedro Báez, Adam Kolarek, and Kenta Maeda, who was credited with the win.

“Obviously, there was a lot of matching up tonight,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts after the game. “Another good one from Kenley. You saw some sliders, some two-seamers, and the cutter. He’s feeling pretty good and when his mechanics are dialed in, everything plays up”

The irony about Tuesday’s game, a game which SportsNet LA’s Alanna Rizzo said “Had a weird vibe to it” three hours before the first pitch, is that the Dodgers were actually no-hit by the Rays until the bottom of the fifth inning when Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager hit the first of two two-run doubles on the night accounting for four of the Dodgers seven runs.

With the first of those two doubles, Seager matched his career-high 40 doubles set in 2012 to become the sixth Dodger in franchise history with two 40+ double seasons, joining Hall of Famer Zach Wheat (1924-25), Johnny Frederick (1929-30), Babe Herman (1929-32), Raul Mondesi (1996-97) and Shawn Green (2000, 2003). With his second two-run double in the bottom of the seventh, the 25-year-old Charlotte, NC native and Dodgers first-round draft pick in 2012 out of Northwest Cabarrus High School in Concord set a new career-high with 41 doubles, tops on the team and 10 ahead of 2019 NL MVP-hopeful Cody Bellinger‘s 31.

Play Ball!

    *    *    *    *    *