Enrique Hernández hit a postseason home run for the Los Angeles Dodgers on October 7, 2026, after staying ready for a lineup opportunity against Chris Sale.
Hernández said he did not know when his chance would come and described the appearance as his first October start. He stated that it was his 94th postseason game and that Sale had his good stuff, saying, “he had it going.”
Hernández explained that his approach was to grind out the plate appearance, avoid a double-play grounder and wait for a hittable pitch. He said the Dodgers made Sale work by driving up his pitch count, adding, “we were able to, you know, run his pitch count up.”
On the decisive pitch, Hernández said, “I doubled up on the change up,” after Sale showed him where the pitch would begin. Hernández also credited Andy Pages for getting on base and Tucker for putting a good swing on the ball, while noting that he wanted to turn the lineup over to Mookie Betts.
Hernández acknowledged that his role is not necessarily to play every day, saying, “it's my role is not to, you know, necessarily be in there all year.” He added that postseason experience helps manage the pressure, saying, “Experience helps a lot with the heartbeat.” Hernández also expressed relief that he was discussing a positive contribution, saying, “glad that I'm talking here about something positive and not something negative.”
Hernández will continue to focus on being prepared when Dave Roberts puts his name in the lineup, as he put it: “I was going to be ready whenever, you know, Doc put my name in the lineup.”