Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen dealing with a lat issue; won’t pitch again until it ‘calms down’
The Red Sox utilized Josh Winckowski in the ninth inning to close the door on the last place White Sox. The righty threw a 1-2-3 inning to earn his first save of the season.
Boston needed Winckowski because closer Kenley Jansen is dealing with a lat issue again.
“I won’t pitch until this [calms] down,” Jansen told Julian McWilliams of the Boston Globe as he exited the Red Sox clubhouse.
Jansen was roughed up in the series finale against the Mets on Wednesday. With the Sox down 4-3, Jansen came in the eighth inning and got just one out. He allowed a single and issued three walks, the last walk forced in a run. Jansen was charged with four runs as the club lost their fifth straight game.
Following the loss to the Mets on Wednesday, Jansen was asked what made his outing so difficult; he replied, “I’ll keep it to myself.”
This is the second time this year that Jansen has dealt with a lat issue. When he came into camp in February, he was delayed with “general lat soreness.”
Jansen will turn 37 at the end of the month and is in the final year of his two-year contract with the Sox. The future Hall of Fame closer has 25 saves in 29 opportunities this season; he also owns a 3.70 ERA and a 1.130 WHIP.
