TAMPA -- Kenley Jansen, MLB¡¯s active leader in saves, has seen it all in his 16 seasons.
But Tuesday¡¯s game against the Rays was something he won¡¯t forget anytime soon.
¡°Well, this one's definitely going to be a memorable one,¡± Jansen said following the Angels¡¯ 4-3 victory at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
It was a milestone night for Jansen, who locked down his 450th career save. But he¡¯ll also remember it for how he and the rest of the Angels¡¯ bullpen lifted the team to its seventh win in 10 games this season.
In the seventh inning, left-hander Garrett McDaniels entered with a runner on third and nobody out and the Angels trailing by a run. Tampa Bay did not score.
In the eighth, lefty Brock Burke had a runner on third with nobody out in a tied game. Tampa Bay did not score.
And in the ninth with the Angels up by a run, Jansen allowed a single and a stolen base to the first two batters he faced, Jake Mangum and Taylor Walls. Second and third, nobody out. Tampa Bay did not score.
¡°We¡¯ve just got some dogs in the bullpen,¡± McDaniels said. ¡°We¡¯re never out of the fight. We¡¯ve got a bunch of dogs here.¡±
¡°It's huge,¡± Jansen said. ¡°We all contributed in situations today to pick Ben [Joyce] up and pick everybody up. ¡ It¡¯s a huge team win.¡±
Joyce was the only member of the bullpen who really struggled on this night. He allowed four hits -- three for extra bases -- to the first four hitters he faced in the seventh inning, which turned a 2-0 Angels lead into a 3-2 deficit.
Those three extra-base hits came in the span of 12 pitches. Through his prior 47 career appearances, Joyce had given up only five extra-base hits. The velocity on his four-seamer and splinker were also down a couple of ticks, but Washington didn¡¯t express any concern after the win.
¡°Our big boy just didn't have it tonight, and the rest of them had to come in and try to keep it where it was,¡± Washington said.
They did just that. Although McDaniels issued a couple of walks in relief of Joyce, he got out of the bases-loaded jam by striking out Brandon Lowe on a slider in the dirt.
Burke¡¯s jam was created by something you never see: Mike Trout misplaying a fly ball. He lost Jos¨¦ Caballero¡¯s drive down the right-field line in the lights and could only watch as it fell behind him. However, Burke responded with strikeouts of Curtis Mead and Christopher Morel and, one batter later, got a lineout from Danny Jansen to end the frame.
Luis Rengifo put the Angels up with a two-out single in the top of the ninth, setting the stage for Jansen. It wasn¡¯t the cleanest inning in his storied career, but he¡¯s been in these situations before. He knows what he can do.
¡°All respect to every hitter,¡± Jansen said, ¡°but when I¡¯m out there, I feel like I¡¯m the best.¡±
Jansen got Yandy D¨ªaz to bounce a ball to third base, and Rengifo made the throw home to d¡¯Arnaud to tag out Mangum. Jansen then struck out Lowe and Caballero on his signature cutter -- the pitch that has made him one of the most productive closers the game has seen.
¡°It was something that I've seen before,¡± Washington said of Jansen¡¯s Houdini act in the ninth. ¡°It was something that I've been a part of before on the opposite side when he¡¯s pulled that off. So, I sort of felt like we were in a good place when he was out there.¡±
Jansen said getting No. 450 was ¡°awesome¡± and added, ¡°I guess it shows greatness.¡±
He also said that it¡¯s fun to hit that mark with this club, one that is off to a surprising 7-3 start. It¡¯s the third time in the Wild Card era (since 1995) that the Angels have begun a season by winning seven of their first 10 games. They did the same in 2018 and ¡¯21.
Jansen expects many more wins and ¡°great things¡± from these Halos. But the hope is those future wins aren¡¯t as suspenseful as what took place Tuesday.
As d¡¯Arnaud said immediately after the victory: ¡°Wow, my heart is still racing.¡±