Former Red Sox infielder/outfielder helps Dodgers get to NLCS

There's something about Kiké Hernandez and October baseball.

Hernandez, who played for the Red Sox for two and a half years, hit a solo home run in the second inning for the Los Angeles Dodgers, the team he played for before and after his time with Boston. That solo home run would have been enough, but for good measure, Teoscar Hernandez added a solo shot in the seventh inning to lift the Dodgers to a 2-0 shutout over the San Diego Padres in Game 5 of the NLDS and earn a spot on the National Team secure League Championship Series against the New York Mets.

The home run was the 14th of Hernandez's 75-game postseason career. Asked on Fox's postgame show what it was about October that allowed him to perform so well, Hernandez said, “I don't know, but I like it.”

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This also applied to his time with the Red Sox. During his time with the Red Sox, Hernandez struggled with inconsistency and injuries during the regular season. But in 12 postseason games with the Red Sox in 2021, he hit five home runs and posted a 1.260 OPS.

After leaving the Dodgers following the 2020 season to sign with the Red Sox as a free agent, Hernandez was traded back to the Dodgers in July 2023. He was in the lineup Friday night due to an injury to shortstop Miguel Rojas. That forced Dodgers manager Dave Roberts to move Tommy Edman to short and insert Hernandez in center field. In the ninth inning, thanks to some other defensive substitutions, Hernandez was moved to third base, where he got two groundouts as the Dodgers secured the win.