Kenley Jansen finishes 5th in NL Cy Young voting

LOS ANGELES — Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen had his best season in 2017, and on Wednesday finished fifth in voting for the National League Cy Young Award, as voted on by the Baseball Writers Association of America.

In 65 games in 2017, Jansen posted a 1.32 ERA and 1.31 FIP with 41 saves in 42 opportunities, 109 strikeouts and seven walks in 68⅓ innings.

Jansen received two third-place votes, five fourth-place votes and six fifth-place votes, finishing with a total of 22 points, slotting in behind winner Max Scherzer, teammate Clayton Kershaw, Stephen Strasburg, and Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke. Seven points are awarded for a first-place vote, four points for second, three for third, two for fourth place, and one point for a fifth-place vote.

Jansen’s third-place votes came from Mark Whicker of the Southern California News Group and Paul Hagen of MLB.com.

This is the seventh time a Dodgers relief pitcher has received Cy Young Award votes, and the first since Takashi Saito finished eighth in 2006 with one third-place vote. Two Dodgers relievers have won the award — Mike Marshall in 1974 and Eric Gagne in 2003.