Dave Roberts 'disappointed' in Dodgers fans for booing Jansen
Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is disappointed in fans for booing Kenley Jansen after the closer blew a save in the ninth inning against the rival San Francisco Giants on Wednesday.
"Fans certainly have a right to voice their frustrations," Roberts said following the 4-2 loss, according to ESPN's Alden Gonzalez. "I get that. But I do believe that this guy, born and raised as a Dodger, what he does - he cares about the Dodgers, the fan base, and he's shown that on the field, off the field. No one hurts more than he does, to be quite honest.
"He's worked really hard to kind of get back, should have been an All-Star this year, and he's had a fantastic season. ... He was looking forward to pitching at home. And so for it to not go well - yeah, I'm disappointed to hear (the boos). Certainly. He's not going to say it, but I am."
Jansen entered Wednesday's game with Los Angeles ahead 2-1. The 33-year-old proceeded to allow a leadoff single to pinch hitter Buster Posey and a go-ahead home run to Wilmer Flores. After Jansen struck out Mike Yastrzemski, Darin Ruf doubled before back-to-back walks to Donovan Solano and Thairo Estrada loaded the bases.
Roberts replaced Jansen with left-hander Victor Gonzalez, who issued a bases-loaded walk to put the Giants ahead by two runs.
The blown save was Jansen's second in a row. The Dodgers right-hander has allowed four earned runs, five hits, and walked two in 1 1/3 innings through his last two outings. Before those two contests, Jansen had not allowed an earned run since May 28.
"It's just a bad one," Jansen said of his outing. "I don't want to overthink it. I worked my butt off too hard to let one moment like this try to mess your season up. Ain't no time to think about it. These guys are going to play us tough like this the rest of the year, and we just have to keep battling. I've got to do better. That's pretty much it."
Wednesday's loss cost L.A. a chance to claim a portion of first place in the National League West. Instead, San Francisco owns a two-game lead in the division over its California foe entering the last matchup of a four-game series between the two clubs on Thursday.