All-Star Kenley Jansen of the Los Angeles Dodgers has been voted the National League Reliever of the Month Presented by The Hartford for July-August, and All-Star Liam Hendriks of the Oakland A’s has been voted the American League Reliever of the Month Presented by The Hartford for July-August. The announcements were made earlier today on MLB Network.
Jansen was awarded his second career Reliever of the Month Award, previously accomplishing the feat in June 2017. Takashi Saito (August 2007) is the only other Dodgers reliever to earn monthly honors. Hendriks also claimed his second AL Reliever of the Month Award, doing so last June. Liam joined his former All-Star bullpen-mate Blake Treinen as the only A’s relievers to amass a pair of monthly honors.
Kenley Jansen, Los Angeles Dodgers (@kenleyjansen74)
• Made 16 appearances for the Dodgers, logging nine saves and a perfect 1-0 record. Tallied 21 strikeouts while permitting six hits and six walks across 14.2 innings pitched.
• Posted a scoreless streak of seven appearances from August 9th-22nd, his longest stretch of the 2020 season thus far. Permitted just a single hit across 5.2 innings of work while tallying a win and three saves during the stretch.
• Recorded his 311th career save last night, surpassing Hall of Famer Goose Gossage and now ranking 24th in MLB history. Among active relievers, only Craig Kimbrel (347) and Fernando
Rodney (327) have recorded more.
• Entering play today, Jansen paces the NL in saves and is tied with fellow Reliever of the Month Presented by The Hartford Liam Hendriks as well as Brad Hand for the Major League lead.
Liam Hendriks, Oakland A’s (@hendriks_31)
• Made 16 appearances for the A’s, logging 23 strikeouts and 10 saves. Over the course of his dominant month, permitted just eight hits and three walks over 16.1 innings.
• Has converted each of his previous 10 save opportunities, which is the longest such streak of his career, surpassing his previous mark of eight (2019).
• Notched nine saves in the calendar month of August, tied for third-most in Club history behind only Billy Koch (11 saves in 2002) and Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley (10 saves in 1989).
• In his last eight appearances dating back to August 12th, Hendriks has amassed a win and five
saves to go along with an 11:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 8.0 scoreless innings. Has allowed just a single hit during his current hot stretch.
Others receiving votes for NL Reliever of the Month included All-Star Josh Hader (11 G, 1.69 ERA, 8 SV, 0 H, 17 SO) and Devin Williams (3-1, 0.64 ERA, 29 SO, 14.0 IP) of the Milwaukee Brewers; All-Star Brandon Kintzler (13 G, 2.70 ERA, 7 SV, 13.1 IP) of the Miami Marlins; All-Star Shane Greene (15 G, 0.55 ERA, 12 SO, 4 BB) of the Atlanta Braves; All-Star Drew Pomeranz (12 G, 0.00 ERA, 4 SV, 15 SO) of the San Diego Padres; and Kenley’s bullpen-mates Caleb Ferguson (1-0, 0.68 ERA, 13.1 IP, 20 SO) and Dylan Floro (1-0, 0.57 ERA, 12 SO, 2 BB).
Others receiving votes for AL Reliever of the Month included Josh Staumont (16 G, 0.61 ERA, 28 SO, 8 H) of the Kansas City Royals; All-Star Alex Colomé (13 G, 0.68 ERA, 11 SO, 13.1 IP) of the Chicago White Sox; James Karinchak (17 G, 2.00 ERA, 35 SO, 9 BB) of the Cleveland Indians; Nick Anderson (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 11 G, 15 SO) of the Tampa Bay Rays; and Phillips Valdez (14 G, 0.86 ERA, 23 SO, 7 BB) of the Boston Red Sox.
The National League Reliever of the Month presented by The Hartford, Kenley Jansen, and the American League Reliever of the Month presented by The Hartford, Liam Hendriks, will each receive a specially designed plaque, suitably engraved, for their accomplishments. The Hartford, the Official Business Insurance & Employee Benefits Sponsor of MLB, has presented baseball’s annual Relievers of the Year Awards, named in honor of Mariano Rivera (American League) and Trevor Hoffman (National League), since 2015.