The 2020 Major League Baseball season was an unusual one, but it ended with the Los Angeles Dodgers winning the World Series for the first time since 1988.
During their postseason run, the Dodgers had a number of big moments and key contributions from a variety of players, so DodgerBlue.com is ranking the top 10. Coming in at No. 7 is Kiké Hernandez’s game-tying home run in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series.
Before getting to that, let’s go back a couple of days to when the Dodgers were down three games to one against the Atlanta Braves. Hernandez said that was the first time the team had faced adversity in 2020.
He noted the Dodgers’ MLB-best 43-17 record and their sweeping both the Wild Card round and NL Division Series.
They were able to chip away against the Braves, winning both Games 5 and 6 to force a winner-take-all Game 7. That game didn’t get off to the best start with the Braves taking an early 2-0 lead and then a 3-2 lead into the sixth inning with all of their best relievers ready to go.
With a slim lead, Braves manager Brian Snitker went to lefty AJ Minter, who tossed three great innings in Game 5, to pitch the sixth inning. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts countered with Hernandez pinch-hitting for Joc Pederson to lead off the inning, and it ended up working out.
Hernandez proceeded to battle through an eight-pitch at-bat, fouling off tough pitches. Minter then made a mistake with a fastball down the middle and Hernandez made him pay, launching a home run to left field to tie the game at three.
Cody Bellinger then hit the game-winning home run in the seventh, and Julio Urias pitched three perfect innings to close it out and send the Dodgers to the World Series, where they defeated the Tampa Bay Rays in six games.
Hernandez is now a free agent and if he leaves the Dodgers, he will always be remembered for his big postseason hits. In this year’s October run he only hit .214/.290/.464, but he also drove in a big run in Game 1 of the World Series.
Best Dodgers moments of 2020 postseason
No. 8: Julio Urias closes out World Series
No. 9: Clayton Kershaw throws out Manuel Margot trying to steal home
No. 10: 11-run first inning in Game 3 of NLCS
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