Try as we may, we all knew it would happen – ‘The Bad Kenley Jansen‘ returned a mere two days after ‘The Mad Kenley Jansen’ had notched his fifth save of the season (to go along with his one blown save), picking up his first loss of the season to the NL East last-place Cincinnati Reds in front of a (COVID-19) sold out Dodger Stadium crowd of 15,199.

With the score tied 3-3, Roberts called upon the 33-year-old Willemstad, Curacao native and one-time elite Dodgers closer in the 10th inning with an automatic runner on second base to keep the Reds from scoring the go-ahead run.

He did not.

Instead, on his second pitch to Reds left fielder Jesse Winker, Jansen served up a 90.5-MPH meatball two-seam fastball up in the zone, which Winkler promptly deposited over the wall in left field for a game-winning two-run home run, with the anemic Dodgers (again) unable to score in their half of the 10th.

“Ya know … just got ahead, top of the zone, it was a two-seamer, and he put a good swing on it,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said postgame. “So… yeah, I think Kenley’s throwing the baseball really well this year. I think he had that one hiccup [blown save] in Oakland, but outside that, been very good. Obviously, there’s an inherited runner – the man on second base – and he gave up the home run, and that’s going to happen.”

Pretty much what you expected Roberts to say, right?

In fairness to Jansen, who actually has been “…throwing the baseball really well this year,” with a (now) 2.61 ERA, eight walks and 13 strikeouts, he – and every other Dodgers pitcher – has been getting (almost) zero run support from the Dodgers offense.

“Just kind of throughout the line-up, we’ve just gotta take better at-bats consistently,” Roberts said. “I know we’re better than we’re performing right now. Every offense goes through these kind of lulls at periods of time, and it’s kind of magnifying things, whether it be on the bullpen side. But I think the offense is going to perform better in the coming days, but right now, we’re just in a little funk.”

Ya think?

In the last two games alone, the funky Dodgers are 4-for-27 (.148) with runners in scoring position and have left 28 runners on base.

With the loss, their second in a row and fourth in their last 10 games, the Dodgers are now tied with the San Francisco Giants for first place in the National League West.

…and that, quite frankly, is unacceptable.

Play Ball!

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