The Los Angeles Dodgers found themselves on the wrong end of a lopsided game for the third time this season, and it resulted in Kiké Hernández making his third pitching appearance of the year.
But whereas Hernández’s first two instances of pitching this season were the ninth inning of blowout wins, Tuesday night presented a different scenario as he entered in the sixth with the Dodgers trailing the San Diego Padres, 9-0.
Hernández pitched the final 2.1 innings of the loss, allowing two runs (one earned). While it was a lowly night for the Dodgers, Hernández impressed rising Padres star Jackson Merrill.
“That was the nastiest cutter I’ve ever seen,” he said of Hernández pitching. “They would go across the whole other batter’s box and the plate. It was nasty. Shoutout to Kiké. I don’t think I would get a hit off that if I faced him again.”
Merrill faced Hernández in the seventh inning and grounded out on a 49.4 mph pitch that was classified as a “slow curve.” Before that, Hernández threw Merrill two eephus pitches.
“I mean, why do you think the numbers are what they are?” Hernández told DodgerBlue.com when Merrill’s comment was relayed to him.
In his three games pitching this season, Hernández owns a 2.08 ERA across 4.1 innings. Prior to this past Tuesday, he’d completed just one inning when pitching this year. Hernández set a career high with his 2.1 innings against the Padres.
Needing to enter in the sixth was disappointing for Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, but he recognized the value of preserving the bullpen moving forward.
“Very awkward, very awkward,” he said. “It doesn’t feel good, but I think a guy that was available tonight in (Michael) Kopech, I’m not going to pitch him, down six or seven in the sixth inning, to then not have him available tomorrow. As the rules are, we abided, and that’s kind of what you do to essentially move forward and win the ensuing games.”
Kiké Hernández pitching stats
The super utility man has now made eight pitching appearances over his MLB career, including four last season and one for the Boston Red Sox in 2018.
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