Angels Future Hall of Famer Teaches Teammates Perfect Lesson After Struggles

Angels closer Kenley Jansen rebounded after his poor previous outing to secure the Angels' 5-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Saturday.

In the previous game against the Tigers, Jansen surrendered six runs, three of which were home runs, causing the Angels to lose a game that was tied at one in the top of the ninth inning.

“You just got to go back out there,” Jansen said after the game. “... It’s a long season. If you’re doing it for a while, you’re going to continue to learn crazy things happen. You got to control it, stick to the process."

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Jansen didn't enter the ninth clean; rather, he had two runners in scoring position, yet he managed to stay composed and get the outs — an impressive feat considering how poorly he pitched the night before.

Jansen hopes the relatively young roster of the Angels can learn to shake off a bad performance.

Some hope for today’s Angels game:

•Snapped the 7-game losing streak yesterday and the Monkey is off our back.
•Kyren Paris is showing signs of life
•Kenley Jansen remembered how to save a game
•Tigers’ Reese Olson has a 3.55 ERA… not exactly unbeatable
— The Angels Suck (@HalosAnonymous) May 4, 2025

“I just hope they learn from it,” Jansen said. “I don’t care how good you are or whatever, anybody’s going to suck [sometimes].

"It’s a long season, and you can’t let that affect your mind. Go back out there and battle, trust your stuff, believe in yourself, and we’ll get it done."

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Manager Ron Washington did not hesitate to put Jansen back into the game, trusting in his 14-year career experience to prepare himself mentally to pitch again when the team needs him most.

“He's a pro, and pros don't back down,” Washington said. “Pros accept whatever happens to them, and that's what we’re trying to do.

"We're trying to be pros, trying to accept what's happened to us and just keep working through it. Because when you look back, we've been in a lot of ballgames.

“You know the bottom line is to win them. I understand that, but we've been in a lot of ballgames and we're still learning how to win. We're going to have to start learning how to close ballgames down at the back end.

“Get the ball to Kenley, and that's something we just have to keep doing.”

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