Alexander: Relief pitchers are guaranteed to frustrate

SAN DIEGO — Part of the problem is that we expect our relief pitchers to be perfect. And, as we were once again reminded Sunday afternoon, they aren’t.

“These guys aren’t robots,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said earlier in the week.

When he spoke those words he was talking about Pedro Baez. But he could have been talking about Kenley Jansen, who gave up a walkoff grand slam to Hunter Renfroe that gave the Padres an 8-5 victory Sunday afternoon and prevented a Dodgers sweep at Petco Park.

Jansen has saved 280 games in his career, 12 in 14 save opportunities this year. The times he doesn’t, such as Sunday? Those are the times that fans grumble and squirm and, in some extreme cases, wonder if there is a better option out there. Believe me, people were tweeting that sentiment around 4:10 Sunday afternoon, after Renfroe hammered a cutter into the left field seats.

Those may be the same people who will see Jansen quoted as saying “who cares” and wonder if his attitude is where it should be. If so, they’re the ones misinterpreting things, not the pitcher.

“You gotta have that ‘who cares’ mentality” as a coping mechanism, Jansen said Sunday. “It happens. It hurts. We wanted that win today. But they’re gonna be there (in Dodger Stadium) next week. That’s who I am. I just get that payback time when I face them again.

“You gotta let it go, man. You gotta let it go to survive in this league. You can’t let stuff like that happen and worry about it, because it’s going to cost you the next game.”

Relief pitching, especially in high-leverage situations, is guaranteed to frustrate those who don’t have to do it. Fans are already prepared to give up on Joe Kelly, who was signed for three years to help get the Dodgers to the ninth inning but has often been unable to build that bridge.  They’re just now warming to Baez, but the memories of his early struggles are never too far from the public consciousness.

With Jansen, the concerns – from the outside – are about his velocity, or his location, or the home run ball to which he has become susceptible in recent seasons. He has surrendered high profile homers in each of the last two World Series. He gave up 13 last season in 69 games, and now has given up four in 17 outings in 2019.

His is a high-wire act, only way more public. And those who discount the importance of the save usually are those who have never had to get those 25th, 26th and 27th outs with little margin for error.

Ask Padres fans. Their closer, Kirby Yates, came into this series with 14 saves in 16 appearances and an 0.56 ERA, but he suffered losses in the ninth inning Friday and Saturday nights. Eventually, everybody gripes about their respective relief pitchers.

Jansen had a one-run lead going into the ninth inning Sunday, achieved on Chris Taylor’s two-run home run in the eighth to complete a comeback from what was originally a 4-0 deficit. Starter Kenta Maeda and relievers Ross Stripling and Baez had retired 14 San Diego hitters in a row, with seven strikeouts in a row at one point, to get the ball to Jansen.

The ninth started ominously, with Eric Hosmer stroking a high and outside cutter to the opposite field for a single, and Manny Margot and Wil Myers following with bunt hits to load the bases. Margot was sacrificing, and third baseman Justin Turner let his bunt roll but it stayed fair. Myers bunted to the left of the mound, and in the confusion over who was covering he beat it out.

Yet Jansen almost got to the end of the high wire, getting Greg Garcia on a called third strike – the ninth pitch of the at-bat – and retiring catcher Francisco Mejia on a popup to first.

“We did,” said Roberts, when asked at that point if he felt confident Jansen was going to get out of it. “And when he got to some stress there were some 93s there (velocity), and I thought the ball had life. So once he got Garcia, and then Mejia, I really liked our chances.

” … I think right now he just hasn’t been consistent with his execution. Even the Hosmer ball, he was trying to go up and in and (the ball) leaked back over for some hard contact. But when he gets in a spot to save and it gets stressful, he finds a way to make pitches.”

Usually.

The first pitch to Renfroe was mid-strike zone and a wee bit in, and the Padres slugger took it for strike one.

“The second pitch, I tried to go up … tried to climb the ladder,” Jansen said. “But the ball stayed a little down, and he put a good swing on it. Sometimes that’s gonna happen. I can’t beat myself (up) about this.

“How many times do you throw a good pitch up in the zone and guys swing through it? … I got beat by my best pitch, the pitch I want to throw there in that situation, up in the zone. I’ve just got to let it go.”

There is also this about these high-wire artists: The best ones believe in accountability. Jansen, as is the case with most of his fellow closers, does not duck questions after a bad outing.

No, he’s not perfect. But he sets a good example.

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