Why Kenley Jansen Believes Young Red Sox Ready For ‘Scary’ Second Half

The Boston Red Sox are riding the momentum to their best baseball of the season.

Boston moved to 11 games over .500 when closer Kenley Jansen guided the Red Sox to a victory with a six-out save. Given that he had not pitched since the series finale against the New York Yankees seven days prior, he shouldered the workload with 27 pitches to cover the final two innings.

Jansen closed out the first half with 19 saves as one of the few veterans on a relatively young Red Sox squad. As young talents such as Jarren Duran, Tanner Houck and Connor Wong take on greater roles, Jansen’s watching the team find confidence with each series victory.

At 53-42, the Red Sox have their sights set on upholding their brand of baseball.

“Be humble and stay hungry,” Jansen told reporters, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “Play hard and be quiet about it. Keep proving, man. Keep proving everybody wrong.”

The Red Sox are rising up the standings and doing so even while withstanding season-ending injuries to Lucas Giolito, Trevor Story and Garrett Whitlock. Triston Casas remains out since April with a rib injury. When he returns and factoring in any potential trade deadlines, Jansen knows Boston may be able to find another gear.

“I have belief in these guys,” Jansen added. “It’s a very young, healthy, exciting ballclub. They start to believe. These young guys start to believe. It’s about to be scary. Hopefully, we can stay focused. Like I say, we can’t worry about the future but we can think about one game at a time.”