ANAHEIM -- Angels closer Kenley Jansen exited with cramping in his right pectoral and neck after throwing just four pitches against the Red Sox on Monday, as his velocity was down 3 mph from his season average. But Jansen said he believes he’s fine and will be available to pitch on Tuesday.
Jansen, coming in for a non-save situation with the Angels up 9-5 after a four-run eighth inning, threw four cutters to Connor Wong with his fastest pitch topping out at 90.8 mph. He was visited at the mound by acting manager Ray Montgomery, pitching coach Barry Enright and head athletic trainer Mike Frostad.
After a short meeting at the mound, Jansen left the game with Frostad. He was replaced by veteran right-hander Héctor Neris, who got Wong to ground out to third on his first pitch and threw a scoreless inning to preserve the victory.
“I'm going back tomorrow,” Jansen said. “I was fine. I mean, I get it. Just gotta be smart. With that cramp, every time I threw my pec grabbed me and a little bit in my neck. So hydrate, I guess.”
Jansen, 37, has posted a 4.39 ERA with 25 strikeouts in 26 2/3 innings this year while going a perfect 15-for-15 in save chances this season. He said he left the game as a precaution and is confident he won’t miss any time.
“Gotta be responsible there,” Jansen said. “It’s June. You gotta listen to your trainer and listen to your coaches. Of course, even though I want to continue to go, I think it was smart to get out of there.”
Montgomery was similarly optimistic after the game but said they’ll check with Jansen again on Tuesday just to make sure he’s OK.
“Just a cramp in his pec so he seems fine,” Montgomery said. “I talked to Frosty and it looks like he'll be fine. We’ll see. He just said he started to it feel cramp up. So not going to take any chances there.”