Kenley Jansen has the 3rd-most saves with one team in MLB history

Kenley Jansen recorded his 321st career save on Wednesday, tied with Jose Mesa for 20th all-time in MLB history. But he also surpassed Dennis Eckersley for third-most saves with one team.

“I’m thankful that I’ve been with this organization for so long,” Jansen said. “After this year, it will be half my life that I’m in this organization.”

The Dodgers signed Jansen as an amateur catcher out of Curacao in November 2004, making him the longest-tenured player in the organization. This is his 17th year with the Dodgers, and Jansen turns 34 in September.

Even if Jansen doubled his total with the Dodgers, he’d still trail the all-time leader, Mariano Rivera, who recorded all 652 of his saves with the Yankees. Trevor Hoffman had 552 of his 601 career saves with the Padres. The gap is not lost on Jansen.

“It’s crazy, man. The two best who ever did it, and to see your name underneath them, it’s pretty special,” Jansen said. “It’s pretty special, a kid from Curacao growing up, I never thought I’m going to be in the big leagues.

“Here I am, living a dream. So I’m going to continue to live in it.”

Kershaw on no-nos

Clayton Kershaw threw a no-hitter in 2014, and has been one of the best in his era at limiting hits. On Wednesday night he allowed two hits in his six innings.

In Texas, Corey Kluber threw a no-hitter for the Yankees, the second straight day with a no-hitter in MLB and the sixth this season. Kershaw was asked what he thought of so many no-hitters in such a short time.

“It’s not good, I’ll tell you that,” Kershaw said. “Whatever the intention of the new ball or whatever it may be, it really hasn’t done anything. I think there might be less home runs, which I guess they want. I don’t know the stats on that, but I do know the strikeouts are the same, and I think I saw some stats for April that it was the worst hitting month in the history of something.

“No-hitters are cool, and I have all the respect in the world for Corey Kluber and Bum, and all those guys that have thrown no-hitters. But to have one happen every night, it’s probably not good for the game. Fans want to see some hits — and I get that — and some action, and not many people striking out. I appreciate the attempt that MLB has tried to do, but I think they missed the mark so far.”

Links & news

• Max Muncy talks about the challenges of facing pitchers of increasing velocity, and what offenses are trying to do, with Bill Plunkett at the Orange County Register: “Everyone’s throwing rise balls now. So you’ve just got to make adjustments and mine are taking a little bit longer.”
• Dave Roberts on Chris Taylor, from Juan Toribio’s piece at MLB.com: “He plays every at-bat like it’s his last.”
• The Dodgers will hold LGBTQ+ Night on June 11 at Dodger Stadium, a game against the Rangers. Cyd Zeigler at Outsports has more details on the night and the Dodgers history with such events.
• ESPN will televise next Wednesday’s Dodgers-Astros game, with Karl Ravech, Eduardo Perez, Tim Kurkjian, and Marly Rivera on the broadcast. The telecast will be blacked out in the Los Angeles area, with the game also on SportsNet LA.