The Boston Red Sox entered the ninth inning with a 3-1 lead over the Chicago White Sox to begin their three-game series at Fenway Park on Friday night, which is the ideal situation for manager Alex Cora to call upon closer Kenley Jansen.
But instead, it was Josh Winckowski who recorded the save and sealed the victory.
Jansen hasn't pitched since Wednesday night's brutal relief appearance against the New York Mets in which the 36-year-old entered a one-run game in the bottom of the eighth inning. The Mets rallied around Jansen by drawing three walks, including one that forced in a run, before being charged with four earned runs and forcing Cora to re-signal to the bullpen as Boston took its fifth consecutive trip to the loss column.
This time, Winckowski went 1-2-3 against the White Sox in the ninth while Jansen explained the reasoning behind his absence -- a lat issue.
"I won't pitch again until this (calms) down," Jansen told Julian McWilliams of The Boston Globe after Boston's win.
Boston remains five games back of the Minnesota Twins for the third and final wild card spot in the American League. The team's 1-5 road trip wasn't encouraging and could ease the urgency of Jansen's return to the mound with the 71-70 Red Sox having just 21 games scheduled in the regular season until the postseason bracket is officially set.
Jansen, who will turn 37 on Sept. 30, has recorded 25 saves this season with a 3.70 ERA in 48 2/3 innings pitched (48 relief appearances). He remains fourth on MLB's all-time saves list with 445, trailing third-place Lee Smith (478) by 33 saves.
