Taylor Ward homered, Kenley Jansen earned his 475th career save and the Angels beat the Kansas City Royals 3-2 on Wednesday night to avoid a series sweep.
Only four pitchers have at least 475 saves: Jansen, Mariano Rivera (652), Trevor Hoffman (601) and Lee Smith (478).
Yusei Kikuchi (7-11) gave up just one hit while striking out six over five innings. He was removed with a left forearm cramp before the sixth. Jansen struck out two in the ninth for his 28th save of the season.
Luis Rengifo doubled and scored on Oswald Peraza’s groundout in the second inning for a 1-0 lead. Ward added a 320-foot solo home run in the third to became one of just three MLB players this season with at least 35 homers, 100 RBIs and 30 doubles.
Royals’ starter Stephen Kolek (5-7) went six innings, giving up three runs on five hits while striking out two. In the fourth, Kolek tried to cut down Peraza at second, but his throw sailed wide of second baseman Jonathan India, allowing Peraza to score for a 3-0 lead.
Randal Grichuk’s homer in the fifth was the only hit given up Kikuchi.
Carter Jensen scored to bring the Royals within a run of Los Angeles in the seventh inning.
The Angels entered the night with the worst save percentage (51%) in the majors and the highest bullpen ERA in the AL at 4.87. They won for just the second time in their last 12 games.
Key moment
Second baseman Christian Moore laid out for a diving stop, then fired to first for the third out of the seventh, preserving the Angels’ 3–2 lead.
Key stat
The Royals came into the night averaging the third-fewest team errors per game in the majors (0.37), but had three against the Angels.
Up next
Mitch Farris (1-2, 6.52 ERA) takes the mound for the Angels while Michael Lorenzen (6-11, 4.70) gets the start for the Royals in a series-closing matchup Thursday.
Hunter Greene had 12 strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings, Noelvi Marte homered, doubled and drove in two runs, and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Angels6-4 on Tuesday night.
Jose Trevino scored on a sacrifice fly by TJ Friedl and Gavin Lux followed with an RBI double off Kenley Jansen (5-3) in the ninth inning to give Cincinnati a 6-4 lead.
Miguel Andujar was three for four with a double and two RBIs.
Greene gave up three runs and six hits and walked none. Luis Mey (2-0) pitched the eighth inning and gave up Jo Adell’s second solo homer of the game but got the win.
Elly De La Cruz walked with two out in the fifth and then scored from first base on a single by Andujar.
Mike Trout doubled and then scored when Taylor Ward hit the next pitch — a 100-mph fastball — to right field for a single in the first. Adell hit a solo homer in the seventh.
De La Cruz singled to lead off the fourth and scored when Andujar hit the fourth consecutive sinker thrown by Kyle Hendricks for a double. After Austin Hays walked, Marte doubled to drive in Andujar and give the Reds a 3-1 lead.
Marte extended his hitting streak to 10 games.
Key moment
After Marte struck out swinging to lead off the ninth, Trevino singled, Ke’Bryan Hayes was hit by a pitch and pinch-hitter Will Benson walked to load the bases before Friedl gave Cincinnati the lead for good.
Key stat
Greene is the first Reds pitcher to strike out at least 12 batters and walk none since Johnny Cueto on June 11, 2014.
Up next
Cincinnati’s Nick Martinez (10-9, 4.73 ERA) is set to pitch Wednesday against Yusei Kikuchi (6-8, 3.52) to wrap up a three-game series.
Kenley Jansen signed his first professional contract with the Dodgers 21 years ago. He was Clayton Kershaw’s catcher in rookie ball. He has been honored as an All-Star four times. He has saved more games than all but three men in major league history, all of them Hall of Famers. He won a World Series with the Dodgers.
For all that Jansen has accomplished in his two decades in pro ball, there is one thing he has not experienced: He never has been traded.
That could happen in the coming days, with baseball’s trade deadline next Thursday. As we talked about that possibility Friday at Angel Stadium, and about how the sport can be a cold business at times, he dropped 11 words that stood out.
“I thought,” he said, “I would play my whole career with the Dodgers.”
Maybe you can go home again.
The Dodgers are urgently shopping for right-handed relievers. In Anaheim, Jansen is enjoying a season that by some measures is his best since 2021, his last season with the Dodgers.
First things first: Jansen did not sign with the Angels just to rack up saves. He is 36 saves shy of 500, a milestone reached only by Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman.
“I came here with one goal in mind,” Jansen said, “and the goal was to help this team turn around, to end that playoff drought. That’s what I’m here for.
“If they move me, I’d definitely feel disappointed we didn’t accomplish it.”
But let’s be real: The longest playoff drought in the majors is likely to hit 11 years. The Angels are 4-1/2 games out of a postseason berth, but they would have to pass six teams to sneak into the last wild-card spot in the American League playoffs. Baseball Prospectus projects their chance of making the playoffs at 2%.
The Angels demoted their fifth starter this month. They have been running bullpen games because they had no one in their farm system ready to fill the vacancy. They only have two starters you could pencil into their 2026 rotation.
They need pitching depth, and it would be organizational malpractice not to get some by trading their pending free agents, Jansen included.
Kenley Jansen pitches for the Dodgers against the Atlanta Braves in Game 3 of the NLCS on Oct. 19, 2021.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
For the Angels, the optimal outcome would be a team desperate for a closer overpaying to get Jansen.
However, such a team would be more likely to overpay for the marquee names on the market, including Jhoan Duran of the Minnesota Twins, Emmanuel Clase of the Cleveland Guardians and Felix Bautista of the Baltimore Orioles, with a second tier led by David Bednar of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Ryan Helsley of the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Dodgers hate to overpay.
Jansen has 17 saves and one blown save, with a 1.00 earned-run average in save situations and a 3.19 ERA overall. The latter is his lowest ERA since 2021. By ERA+, a statistic that accounts for league and ballpark factors, Jansen is at 133 — or 33% better than league average.
The only Dodgers relievers with an ERA+ above 133: left-handers Alex Vesia and Jack Dreyer.
Dodgers relievers have thrown 49.1% of the team’s innings pitched; the highest percentage of any major league team. Vesia, Anthony Banda and the injured Tanner Scott rank among the top 20 in appearances. Ben Casparius, who earned his first major league save Friday, ranked second among major league relievers in innings pitched.
Phillips is out for the season. Treinen could return from the injured list next week, with Kopech possibly to follow next month and Graterol in September, but it is risky to count on injured players to return healthy and effective.
In a major league career that started in 2010, Jansen never has been on the injured list because of an elbow or forearm issue, and his two stints for shoulder inflammation were brief.
The Dodgers could drop Jansen into their mix of high-leverage right-handers. They would not want Jansen if he would want to be the unquestioned closer.
He is getting the job done as a closer, and he is getting closer to 500 saves. But the Dodgers’ analysts would probably take note of his career highs in exit velocity and hard-hit balls, and a .774 OPS against left-handers that compares unfavorably to his .600 career mark, and might want to spot him against a run of right-handers. Could be the sixth inning, could be the ninth.
Whether it’s the Dodgers or any other contending team, would Jansen consider a role outside the ninth inning?
“At that point, it’s just about getting rings,” Jansen said. “My goal is to win. You play for that, always. I understand there is a milestone I am close to. But, at the end of the day, it’s what you play for. You play to win. You play to win a World Series.
“If I have to go throw the sixth, seventh, eighth, I would do it. I’m a professional. I would do what I do best, and that is pitch.”
Jansen said he hasn’t given up on this Angels team, or this Angels season. He would love to win in Anaheim. The Angels could help him do that: Trade him for another pitching piece that could help them next year, then sign Jansen again over the winter.
