Kiké Hernández has never needed a long regular-season runway to make his October mark. The Dodgers’ utility man arrived in the postseason after an injury-shortened year, waited through the first two games of the National League Division Series without a plate appearance, then launched a two-run homer off Braves left-hander Chris Sale in Game 3.
That swing gave Hernández 17 career postseason home runs, matching Jim Thome, David Ortiz and Aaron Judge. It also put him one homer away from joining a group tied for 11th on the all-time playoff list, a group that includes Dodgers teammate Freddie Freeman.
For Los Angeles, preparing to open the NL Championship Series against the Brewers on Sunday at 8 p.m. ET, Hernández’s latest October contribution offered another reminder of a familiar truth: the calendar has a way of changing his game.
October has been Hernández’s stage
Hernández is in his 11th postseason and has played 106 playoff games, more than Thome, Ortiz or Judge. While his regular-season résumé is that of a versatile and valuable role player, his October production has been notably stronger. He owns an .826 postseason OPS, compared with a .706 mark during the regular season.
He also carries the experience of a player who has been through repeated championship runs. Hernández has as many World Series rings as Ortiz and is part of a Dodgers veteran group that has captured three of the past six titles. Los Angeles is now chasing what would be the fifth World Series three-peat in Major League history.
Miguel Rojas said Hernández embraces the pressure rather than trying to avoid it.
“He turns into a monster in the playoffs, when the stakes are highest,” Rojas said. “He wants that situation, that moment, and he wants to be the guy.”
Hernández has said he sees a connection between his ADHD and the heightened urgency of postseason baseball. He compared it to the focus that arrives when a long school assignment reaches its deadline, explaining that the pressure helps him remain present and locked in for nine innings — or even 18.
A difficult regular season, then a familiar response
This season did not offer much rhythm. Hernández opened the year on the injured list while recovering from left elbow surgery, then returned for only two games before a left oblique strain sidelined him again.
He appeared in 41 games, the smallest total of his 13-year Major League career, and finished that limited regular-season stretch batting .222 with a .671 OPS.
Manager Dave Roberts had regularly found postseason starts for Hernández in previous years regardless of his regular-season line. This time, with the Dodgers carrying a particularly deep lineup, Hernández did not bat in either of the first two NLDS games against Atlanta.
Roberts changed course in Game 3, building a lineup suited to face Sale. Hernández started at third base and delivered the two-run shot in his second trip to the plate.
“We needed some of that Kiké dust,” Roberts said. “He is always ready, and he loves these moments. He knows how to lock in.”
Finding the next opening
The Dodgers have no shortage of choices as they move into the series against Milwaukee, which makes Hernández’s path to everyday at-bats less straightforward than it has been in past Octobers.
Second base could provide one opening after Tommy Edman went hitless in the Division Series. Hernández also could share third base with Max Muncy, though Muncy has hit three home runs over his past four games. Hernández has appeared in left field this postseason as well, but his most likely work there may come as a late defensive replacement rather than as a regular substitute for Teoscar Hernández.
Whatever the lineup card says, Hernández expects to matter somewhere along the way. He has built that reputation over a career in which October repeatedly has brought out his sharpest work.
“I take a lot of pride in it, even if I do not spend much time thinking about it,” Hernández said. “When my playing days are over, it will be something I look back on with pride — finding a way to be in October year after year.”
