Kiké Hernández said the Dodgers earned their NLDS advancement on October 8, 2026.
Hernández described the victory as the product of strong pitching, bullpen support and timely hitting, saying, "we had to earn it." He also said postseason victories remain special and should never be taken for granted: "you can't ever take them for granted."
Hernández credited Tyler Glasnow for providing the pitching the Dodgers needed, saying, "Glass now gave us what we needed out of him." He added that the Dodgers bullpen kept Glasnow in the game, stating, "The bullpin kept him there."
Hernández praised Andy Pages for a disciplined single up the middle that won the series: "staying with it, not trying to do too much, just single up the middle, won us the series." He also encouraged Edwin Díaz to use a strong October and a World Series victory to reshape his season, saying, "you have a good October, you help us win the World Series and you can rewrite the whole year." Hernández noted that Díaz had been lights out in all three playoff games in which he pitched, according to his assessment.
Hernández said the Dodgers' objective is to win the World Series and emphasized, "it's not how it starts, it's how it finishes." During the celebration, Tanner Scott poured more beer down Hernández's already soaked back, prompting Hernández to joke, "I'm so wet that I didn't even feel that I was getting more wet."