“It’s a little bit of a tough pill to swallow,” Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters on Wednesday during his pregame interview before the Dodgers took on the Philadelphia Phillies.

Roberts comment refers to an incident that occurred on Tuesday when Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen told reporters in front of his locker postgame that he should have come out of the Dodgers 9-8 loss to the Phillies in which Jansen blew the save. After being struck in the foot on a ground ball by Phillies player Adam Haseley, Jansen told Roberts and the Dodgers team doctor that he was okay to continue pitching. Jansen later said that his ankle went numb after taking the ground ball shot and that he could not drive his ankle. By telling reporters after the game that he believes he should have come out, Roberts became a little irritated and upset with Jansen.

“I think I do a very good job of being honest with my guys,” Roberts said. “We’re all trying to win. We’re all trying to compete. But when you give certainty that you’re not compromising yourself for the team, then I’m going to trust it. So to then go back and say, ‘I should’ve come out of the game,’ it’s a little bit tough to swallow.”

“When we give him a baseball, I expect the game to be over,” Roberts said. “The results aren’t what they were in ’17. And you can say that about a lot of players. So I think it’s just one of those things that he’s just got to continue to make pitches. But he’s the best we have and I still have full confidence when we give him the baseball.”

Patience in times of urgency is something Los Angeles Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen knows too well. It’s actually what his career is predicated on.

The 2018 MLB regular season ends on Sept. 30, so the playoffs are just around the corner.

Kenley Jansen faces heart surgery

It’ll be a trial of his confidence in himself once Jansen sets aside baseball — and everything else — for heart surgery later this year. A career marked by a cool demeanor and a scorching right arm, Jansen, the three-time All-Star, is set to willingly postpone his surgery in order to lead his team toward a deep playoff run. But, like always, Jansen’s gonna take it slow, one pitch at a time. 

That’s something he’ll continue to do come October when the team looks to redeem itself from 2017’s heartbreaking World Series loss in seven games to the Astros. As a closer, the weight on his shoulders presses downward, increasingly as the moment grows; when the Dodgers face moments of perilous proportions, it is Jansen they rely on for security. Once his postseason heroics, in whatever form they take, secede for the long winter of the Major League Baseball offseason, it’ll be the Dodgers that Jansen will depend on for support.

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Seven years ago, when Jansen was just one season into the bigs, embarking on a new path of his life, something bridged his uncertainty as a rookie to the confidence he has now as a proven All-Star. An irregular heartbeat startled Jansen and his family, but he recovered and never experienced any severity, that is until August of this year.

Jansen missed ten days with the Dodgers, who struggled mightily in his absence, due to the same ailment. This prompted the need for surgery, and also prompted a pivotal decision that needed to be made about his future with the team. Considering the recent and potential success of his team, Jansen decided that his doctor’s advisement was one to trust. He could complete the remainder of the season but had to retain a strict regimen of medicine and pills to ensure his safety. He feels that he’s almost back to normal, and is confident, as always, that he’ll have an impact on the depth of the bullpen.

As far as baseball goes, Jansen is just as sure that he’ll follow up the second heat of his 2018 All-Star campaign with a similar rigor. “I feel like I can control it again,” Jansen said about his two-seamer. “It’s not cutting too big. It’s doing its thing; it just moves late at the end. That’s what I see. I feel good about it.”

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His two-seamer contorts itself in an odd fashion; its incongruous movement barrels down the mound, unpredictably, but Jansen’s always in control of it. The final moments of the World Series might be something to fear, especially when Jansen hasn’t ever taken it head on, but he’s seen worse.

Two of the most daunting and challenging moments of his life are approaching rapidly, but its what he’s used to, and its when he’s at his best.

Kenley Jansen earned the Los Angeles Dodgers’ all-time saves record with 162 as he closed out the team’s 4-1 victory over the Washington Nationals at Dodger Stadium on Monday night.

Kenley Jansen, Clayton Kershaw Lead Dodgers To 4-1 Home Win Over Nationals

Clayton Kershaw, meanwhile, held the Nationals to one run in seven innings to earn his 11th win.

Kershaw cruised for six innings, scattering three hits while striking out eight, but then lost his momentum in the seventh. Daniel Murphy, Anthony Rendon and Wilson Ramos all singled to double Washington’s hit total against the left-hander and get into the run column. The Nationals had advanced the tying run to second before Chris Heisey flied out to center to finish the inning.  

“It’s kind of a turnkey deal for me when Clayton takes the mound,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “The heat, a little bit out there, you see him working a little extra tonight, but he got us through seven innings. They’re a team that slugs over there. They found some holes in the seventh, but as Clayton always does, he found a way.”

After ending with eight strikeouts and no walks, Kershaw improved his strikeout-to-walk ratio to 20.14, keeping him on track to shatter the single-season record.

Nationals spot starter Yusmeiro Petit replaced Stephen Strasburg, who was scratched with an upper back strain. Strasburg had been off to one of the best starts of his career at 10-0 with a 2.90 ERA. Petit allowed three runs and a total of six base-runners while striking out five.

“His arm is very resilient,” Nats manager Dusty Baker said about Petit. “He threw big-time strikes, and he kept us in the game. Heck, he even got a hit, our first hit. He saved our bullpen.”

Third baseman Justin Turner hit a 418-foot solo home run to center field in the bottom of the first to give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead. The homer extended Turner’s hitting streak to eight games, a span in which he’s hit .467 with five homers.

“I think JT is being JT right now,” Roberts said. “Obviously a bit of a struggle early. It’s not like he’s necessarily hot, this is just him. This is the way he hits. Hits good pitching. Hits good pitches. Not really one way to get him out. It’s fun to get him back.”

Jansen’s record-breaking save came in the top of the ninth, when he struck out Ryan Zimmerman and Ramos, then forced a weak grounder from Rendon. Jansen passed Eric Gagne to become the leader on the all-time Dodgers save list with his 162nd save, which also made him the first Dodger ever with five 20-save seasons.

“The consistency that he brings every year to the back end of our games, it’s nice to have,” Turner said. “It’s nice to know when you pass the ball to him with the lead, you got a really good chance of winning the ballgame.”

The two teams will face off again for the second of their three-game series in Los Angeles on Tuesday night. Left-hander Scott Kazmir will start for the Dodgers (39-33, 2nd in NL West), while right-hander Tanner Roark will take the mound for the Nationals (43-28, 1st in NL East).

PHOTO: LOS ANGELES, CA – JUNE 20: Kenley Jansen #74 of the Los Angeles Dodgers reacts to a groundball for the final Washington Nationals out and a save to become the Los Angeles Dodgers all time save leader at Dodger Stadium on June 20, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)