Kiké Hernández was having a pretty memorable Saturday even before he set foot in Dodger Stadium, the veteran utility man starting the weekend with an emotional family gathering to mark the day he reached 10 years of major league service time, a milestone fewer than 10% of players achieve.
“It was at home with my wife, my daughter, my parents, my two sisters and their boyfriends and my dogs,” Hernández said. “My wife prepared an hourlong video of all my friends from back home [in Puerto Rico] with messages from people who have impacted my career. It was definitely a great way to start my day.”
Somehow, Hernández authored an even better finish, entering the game against the Boston Red Sox as a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning and almost single-handedly keeping the Dodgers in it with clutch, score-tying hits in the ninth and 10th innings.
Will Smith then delivered a bases-loaded single to left-center in the bottom of the 11th to give the Dodgers a dramatic 7-6, walk-off victory in front of a rollicking crowd of 48,129 in Chavez Ravine.
“It’s been a day of a lot of reflection,” Hernández said at his corner locker afterward, his brow still sweaty and his uniform covered in dirt. “This game, it’s such a grind, such a long season. It’s hard to sit back and appreciate what you’ve done or what the game has done for you.”
There was a certain symmetry to Hernández’s afternoon. The 32-year-old has played 7½ seasons of his 11-year career with the Dodgers and 2½ seasons with the Red Sox, the teams that packed about as much drama as you can fit in a 3½-hour nationally televised regular-season game.
And Hernández was a teammate of Kenley Jansen, the man he hit a game-tying home run off of in the ninth inning, in both Los Angeles and Boston.
“It’s funny how things work,” Hernández said. “I’ve played for four teams, and the two I played the majority of my career with are here at Dodger Stadium on the day I celebrate my tenure. It’s a really beautiful thing.”
Dodgers catcher Will Smith gets a face full of water as he celebrates with teammates after hitting a walk-off single in the 11th inning Saturday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
The lead changed hands three times in the the first seven innings, with Tyler O’Neill crushing a two-run homer off left-hander Anthony Banda to give the Red Sox a 4-3 lead in the seventh, an inning that began with James Outman making a spectacular, leaping catch of a Rob Refsnyder drive as the Dodgers center fielder crashed into the wall.
The bottom of the ninth began with a familiar sight in Chavez Ravine, as Jansen, the former Dodgers closer, entered to protect a one-run lead against the team with whom he notched the first 350 saves of his career.
Jansen grooved a 2-and-2 cut fastball to his old buddy, and Hernández, who entered with a .191 average, .557 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, five homers and 15 RBIs in 71 games, drove a a 415-foot homer to left to tie the score 4-4. It was the first home run given up by Jansen in 134 batters faced this season.
“I’ve played a lot behind Kenley, but I had only faced him once when he was in Atlanta in 2022,” Hernández said. “I ambushed the first pitch, and he broke my bat on a two-seamer that went out to the warning track. The whole way back to the dugout, he was yelling at me, ‘Keep cheating to the cutter! Keep cheating to the cutter!’
“He’s not really throwing the two-seamer this year, so there’s no mystery to what Kenley is trying to do. He gave me one to handle, and I didn’t miss it.”
Did Jansen say anything to Hernández this time?
“If he did, I didn’t hear it because the stadium was loud, and I kind of blacked out because it had been a while since I did something in a big moment in this stadium,” Hernández said. “But I’m sure he might have some words tomorrow.”
The Red Sox took a 6-4 lead in the top of the 10th when O’Neill hit his second homer of the game, a two-run shot to center off Dodgers closer Evan Phillips, one of the relievers responsible for blowing a five-run lead in the ninth inning of a walk-off loss to the Detroit Tigers in the next-to-last game before the All-Star break.
Back came the Dodgers in the bottom of the 10th. Andy Pages hit a one-out double to left off Red Sox right-hander Greg Weissert to score Freddie Freeman, who began the inning as the automatic runner at second base, and cut the deficit to 6-5.
Miguel Rojas, who tapped a check-swing comebacker to the mound to start an inning-ending, 1-2-3 double play with the bases loaded in the eighth, struck out. Up stepped Hernández, who took a first-pitch sweeper for a strike and swung through a second-pitch sweeper for Strike 2. But Hernández worked his way back to a full count and lined a 96-mph sinker to center for a single and a 6-6 tie.
Hernández was thrown out at second trying to advance on the throw home to end the 10th, but his big day wasn’t done yet.
Dodgers catcher Will Smith celebrates after hitting a walk-off single in the 11th inning of a 7-6 win over the Red Sox on Saturday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
“I’ve never faced the guy — he’s a very funky right-hander with a huge crossfire delivery,” Hernández said of Weissert. “I got down 0-2, and after that, it was just about slowing everything down, taking it pitch by pitch and having a lot of self-talk.
“It’s been hard to stay confident, but I kept telling myself throughout the at-bat that there’s nobody better in these types of situations. Just get a pitch, don’t chase, and don’t try to do too much. All I have to do is get a hit or a walk. That 3-2 pitch was right there, and I hit a liner up the middle.”
Reliever Blake Treinen gave the Dodgers a chance to win by escaping a two-on, no-out jam in the top of the 11th, striking out Dominic Smith, getting Ceddanne Rafaela to pop out to first base and pinch-hitter Masataka Yoshida to pop out to third.
“That was huge,” manager Dave Roberts said. “Inheriting the baserunner, it’s hard to get out of there with no run.”
Pinch-hitter Cavan Biggio opened the bottom of the 11th with a sacrifice bunt to advance Hernández, the automatic runner, to third. Chris Taylor walked, and Shohei Ohtani was intentionally walked to load the bases.
Boston brought an outfielder in for a five-man infield, but Will Smith hit a ball where the Red Sox weren’t to give the Dodgers their second straight come-from-behind win.
“There was a lot of back and forth, homers, clutch hits … it was a fun game to be a part of,” Smith said. “I wish we could have closed it out a little earlier, but we were able to grind through it and come out with a win.”
Dodgers left-hander Justin Wrobleski gave up three hits, struck out five and walked two in 4⅓ innings of his third big-league start, and reliever Brent Honeywell, in his second appearance for the Dodgers, threw scoreless eighth and ninth innings.
Gavin Lux hit a solo homer in the second, and the Dodgers scored twice in the sixth for a 3-2 lead when Ohtani doubled, Freeman walked, Teoscar Hernández hit an RBI single and Pages hit a sacrifice fly.
But when it was over, it was Kiké Hernández whom teammates honored with a champagne toast in the clubhouse, a tradition that Roberts started a few years ago to salute players reaching 10 years of service time.
“My family did a really good job this morning of making sure that I enjoy today,” Hernández said. “I had two big moments in the game, and I’m glad we got the win. It’s been a special day for me.”
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