His role on the team normally relies on his defensive side of the game. We could argue that he is the soul of the guys in Dodger Blue. But this time, Kike Hernandez was the hero of the day for the Dodgers. And how big a hero he was!
Kike Hernandez the hero of the day
After getting in the game for defensive purposes and receiving a base on balls on his first appearance at the plate in the 7th inning, Kike responded in the 8th. After two outs, Hernandez annihilated an 0-2, 95 MPH center-cut heater from arguably baseball’s most dominant pitcher, Milwaukee’s Josh Hader.
The issue? The pitch was perfectly high in the strike zone for Kike to follow, using his hands quickly enough, accompanied with a well-balanced follow-through swing. After contact, the ball had an exit velocity of 106.1 MPH, reaching over the Brewers’ bullpen 399 feet away to left field from home plate, according to Statcast. The blast put the Dodgers ahead for good.
KikE Hernandez drills a 0-2 fastball for a 3-run Home Run off Josh Hader to give the Dodgers a 5-2 lead. from baseball
Strange things happen
Kike didn’t waste any time with that rare Hader gift and squared the ball up, as the silence covered up Miller Park. And then, the unthinkable just came to reality, after Kike’s game-winning 2-run shot.
Hernandez, who is not strange to home run oddities (remember his 3-homer game in 2017 NLCS game 7? Who don’t?), hit his first career home run on an 0-2 count. For Hader, it was the first time of his career giving up a home run on a no ball, two strikes count.
Hader, at that moment (including through this game), had 11 innings pitched, with 21 strikeouts and only 1 earned run.
Kike vs lefties
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts gives Hernandez the bulk of his at bats vs left-handed pitchers. During his career, his better success comes against lefties with a respectable .271 batting average.
On this season, he’s hitting them for .500 avg, with 8 hits in 16 at bats. Out of his 8 hits, 3 of them have been for extra-bases, including a double and 2 home runs, including Hader’s laser beam on Friday night, and 5 runs batted in.
This shows that Kike feels way comfortable looking at pitches coming from a left handed pitcher angle coming to him, instead of right-handed pitchers throwing their pitches away from right-handed hitters most of the time.
Today’s mission put Kike Hernandez on a hard task, not against any southpaw, but the best of the on Josh Hader. But for Kike, it was only another one. He turned out to be Friday’s hero for the Dodgers, giving LA its sixth straight win and an MLB-best, 14 wins.
Have it your way Kike!
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