LOS ANGELES — Kiké Hernández was back in the lineup on Wednesday and in a talking mood. The back tightness that sent him out of Game One is manageable. The plan is simple: attack early, support Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and close this out. Hernández kept the focus on doing the small things right and letting the night take care of itself.
“It started on the first ground ball I took during BP yesterday. It kind of locked up on me,” he said of the back. “I wouldn’t have come out of the game, but since we took the big lead it took Thomas two innings to convince me. The first time didn’t work. The second time he came back and I said, ‘All right, I’ll come out.’”
Asked about the plan against Hunter Greene, Hernández said the Dodgers adjusted on the fly. “It kind of went the opposite of our meeting,” he said. “Our plan was to be on the fastball. He threw a season-low percentage of heaters the last time he faced us, so we thought he’d attack with more fastballs. The plan was to hit the fastball, and he made some mistakes with the slider and we made him pay.”
Yamamoto’s year-to-year growth was obvious to Hernández well before October. “The season he had answers it,” he said. “He looks like a guy who knows what he’s doing on the mound. He’s not trying to figure out who he is. He knows who he is and he’s attacking. He has a game plan and he’s executing. His command is impeccable and hopefully he’s that way tonight.” Last October was about finding footing. This time, Hernández said, it’s conviction. “Last year he was trying to adjust to a league you don’t need to adjust to if you haven’t failed. This year it’s, ‘I’m going with my game plan. I’m going to throw my game and let it play out.’ That’s what he’s done all year.”
As for the feel in the room, Hernández kept it honest. “They have a very young, hungry, talented team on the other side,” he said. “We’ve got to get on top early and we’ve got to keep adding on. Last night, even though they lost, they might feel like they regained momentum by scoring a couple late. We’ve just got to go on the attack early and let Yoshi do his thing on the mound. Hopefully we put some runs on the board for him and close this out tonight because a lot of us could use the extra day off.”
His year was a grind and his role shifted late, but he never stopped preparing. “I wasn’t really sure what role I was going to have,” he said. “It wasn’t until my guy went down four days before the season ended that I could consistently play against right-handed pitching. I know they brought me here for these moments. It sucks that for 162 it didn’t go well, but once we get here it doesn’t really matter.”
Hernández loves how October resets everything. “The beautiful thing about the postseason is everything starts at zero,” he said. “You can have a bad year and flip the script in October. Help the team win, we win it all, and nobody remembers the regular season. It can also go the other way. You can have a great year and a bad postseason and people talk about how bad it went. For me it was staying ready and being ready when my name was called, and it happened a little earlier than I thought this time.”
September’s roller coaster didn’t rattle him. “September felt like the whole year,” he said. “It was up and down. We were inconsistent. It was about trying to survive and get to the postseason. Once it started, forget the regular season and understand who we are. Everybody’s coming for us. We have a target on our back, so we had to play like it. We’ve got a lot of experience. It’s not easy to turn it on and off, but we found a way last night and hopefully we find a way tonight.”
On his October reputation, Hernández kept it plain. “Getting hits,” he said with a grin. “I’ve been blessed to be on the right team at the right time. Being a good postseason player is kind of an individual thing, but not really. If your team doesn’t make the playoffs, you can’t be a postseason player. I’ve been on a lot of really good teams and I’ve gotten a lot of chances and things have gone my way. I’ve also had postseasons where it hasn’t gone my way and it feels terrible. You go into the offseason and think about it over and over. A reputation is a reputation. I embrace it. Hopefully I keep getting hits.”
The expectations that come with that label don’t change his routine. “The hardest thing is taking it one day at a time,” he said. “The reality is you’re only living today. What was done yesterday is already paid for. Nothing matters but today. Once the game starts, take it one pitch at a time. In a game you never know which run will win it. In the postseason you never know which pitch will win it. That mindset lets me quiet the noise and do what I have to do.”
He also understands what his voice means in a clubhouse. “It’s part of understanding your role,” he said. “Even though I feel like I’m still 12, I also understand I’m one of the veteran guys. It’s finding who needs the pep talk and picking the right time. I’ve had my moments with certain teammates. It’s part of your role.”
Healthy enough to go, clear about the job, Hernández summed up the night ahead in a few beats. “Attack early. Put runs up for Yoshi. Close it out,” he said. “That extra day off would be nice.”
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