WASHINGTON — If Dave Roberts is fortunate enough to have a lead in the late innings of the All-Star Game on Tuesday night, the Dodgers manager will have his choice of closers to finish it off.
One guy, however, seems like the obvious choice, and not just because he shares the same uniform as the manager.
Kenley Jansen is the most established of the three closers on the NL roster. The others are the Padres’ Brad Hand and the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Felipe Vazquez. The Milwaukee Brewers’ duo of Josh Hader and Jeremy Jeffress have pitched mostly in setup roles. Washington Nationals closer Sean Doolittle was picked for the team, but he’s injured.
“It would mean a lot (to close the game), to be honest,” Jansen said. “If I had a shot to close the game, it would be awesome.”
Jansen is on the roster for his third All-Star Game. The National League lost his previous two. He entered trailing in the eighth to get the final out in 2016, and he entered a tie game in the ninth last year.
Jansen said on Monday afternoon he wasn’t aware of Roberts’ plan, but he would have a conversation with him to express his desire to finish the game, if the situation arises.
SOAKING IT IN
Ross Stripling had barely begun the All-Star Game events on Monday afternoon, but he said his head was already spinning.
“It’s a whirlwind,” said Stripling, adding that he and the Dodgers’ contingent didn’t arrive in Washington until around 3 a.m. on Monday morning.
He said one of his goals for the event was to try to get know some of the players he’d only seen from across the field or in the batter’s box.
“I”m just trying to meet guys and say ‘what’s up?’” Stripling said. “It’s a room of pretty talented guys. I’m just trying to see where I fit in and spark up conversations where I can. Mostly I want to get out and pick the brains of some of the guys who are here.”
Stripling said the first two players he met were Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt.
Besides that, he is hoping he’ll get a chance to pitch in the game. He said Roberts indicated that he’s probably going to get in the game.
“I think it’s important (to pitch),” he said. “I may not get another chance to come to an All-Star Game, so I want to pitch in the one I’m at.”
