Kiké Hernández only has one hit in the 2026 MLB playoffs, but it's the biggest hit of the year for the Los Angeles Dodgers. With Game 3 of the National League Division Series scoreless in the top of the fourth inning and a runner on first base with nobody out, Hernández crushed a changeup from Atlanta Braves ace Chris Sale over the left field wall for a two-run home run, giving the Dodgers a 2-0 lead. Ultimately, that long ball would be enough for Los Angeles to get a 3-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves and take a 2-1 series lead.
"He's a big-time player," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Hernández in his postgame press conference on Tuesday night. "I said it earlier, we needed a little bit of that Kiké dust, and he's always prepared, and he loves moments like this. He has a way to lock in.
He doubled up on a changeup, and he put a good swing on it and made a couple really nice defensive plays, as well. "It's just one of those things where having him in a lineup in the postseason just adds that extra sort of urgency and that kind of grit that you need." The aforementioned home run was the 12th postseason long ball for Hernández in a Dodgers uniform; Hernández, who has extensive experience at every position but catcher (he has even made 11 appearances on the mound), is in his second stint and 10th overall season with the Dodgers (2015-20 and 2023-present). Two batters after Hernández went deep, first baseman Freddie Freeman did the same, launching a solo home run to right.
On the hill, Los Angeles got seven potent innings from right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who logged 10 strikeouts and gave up just one run and five baserunners (four hits and one walk). Tanner Scott and Edwin Díaz followed with a scoreless inning of relief apiece. The 35-year-old Hernández, who traditionally gets lauded for his defensive play and versatility, has been a postseason hero for the Dodgers.
With Los Angeles trailing the Toronto Blue Jays 3-2 in the 2025 World Series and trying to extend the series, Hernández turned a game-ending double-play in left field with the tying run in scoring position to force Game 7, which the Dodgers would win in 11 innings. In 2020, Hernández hit a game-tying home run in the bottom of the sixth inning against the Braves in Game 7 of the NLCS, which the Dodgers went on to win, and he drove in one of the Dodgers' two runs against the San Diego Padres in Game 5 of the 2024 NLDS on a solo home run. Meanwhile, Hernández blasted three home runs for the Dodgers in a closeout Game 5 victory over the Chicago Cubs in the 2017 NLCS and hit five home runs across 11 postseason games for the Boston Red Sox in 2021.
Hernández, who started at third base for the Dodgers in Game 3 and later moved to left field, was limited to 41 games in the 2026 regular season due to elbow and oblique injuries, respectively. In all, the Dodgers have scored just 10 runs in the NLDS, but they've held the Braves to seven runs. The Dodgers have the chance to advance to the NL Championship Series in Game 4 on Wednesday afternoon (6 p.m.
ET on FS1). Atlanta will send Tyler Mahle to the hill, while Los Angeles counters with Tyler Glasnow. Should the Dodgers advance, they'd play the winner of the NLDS matchup between the Milwaukee Brewers and Padres, who staved off elimination with a Game 3 win on Tuesday night, in the NLCS.
