Red Sox
“The fact that we don’t give a [expletive].”
Kiké Hernández was the surprise hero of the Dodgers’ 2-0 Game 5 win over the Padres in the NLDS, helping Los Angeles reach the NLCS.
The former Red Sox utilityman hit a solo home run in the second inning that gave the Dodgers a 1-0 lead at the time. His home run celebration went viral, but it wasn’t the only thing Hernández did Friday that took the internet by storm.
Following the win, Hernández spoke with Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal in an on-field interview. As the Dodgers struggled to get past the NLDS the last two seasons, Rosenthal asked Hernández what was different about this season’s Los Angeles team compared to previous ones.
“Are we live?” Hernández asked Rosenthal after a brief thought.
“We’re live,” Rosenthal responded.
“The fact that we don’t give a [expletive],” Hernández told Rosenthal.
There was a brief pause as Hernández smirked.
“Yup, thank you, Ken,” Hernández said before the interview ended as he walked to celebrate with his Dodgers teammates.
Hernández’s interview mostly caused some laughs on social media, but some weren’t fans of it.
“Kiké Hernández. No class. Even in victory,” Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Asks Fox’s Ken Rosenthal, ‘are we live?” Assured that he is live, drops an F-Bomb with a big smile. What a guy.”
Regardless of what people think of Hernández’s interview, he’s helped the Dodgers move on to the NLCS after a relatively lousy regular season at the plate. He hit .229 with 12 homers and a .654 OPS over 126 regular-season games. Hernández was better in the NLDS, going 3-for-9 at the plate in a much smaller sample size.
Still, this season’s NLDS wasn’t the first time Hernández rose to the occasion in the postseason. Red Sox fans likely remember the five homers he hit in the 2021 postseason, including a grand slam in Game 2 of the ALCS. He also hit a walk-off sacrifice fly to secure an ALDS victory for the Red Sox over the Rays.
In 75 career postseason games, Hernández has hit .277 with 14 homers and a .899 OPS. So, when Hernández took the podium, a reporter naturally asked what it is about October that causes him to have some of his best moments at the plate. Hernández gave another memorable quote.
“I like Halloween,” Hernández said with a smirk.
Teoscar Hernández – who was interested in signing with the Red Sox over the offseason but the club didn’t offer him enough years – hit the other home run for the Dodgers that gave them a 2-0 lead in the seventh inning.
Meanwhile, former Red Sox star Mookie Betts played a large role in the Dodgers’ series win. While he went hitless in Game 5, he hit a home run in Games 3 and 4. Prior to his hot streak at the plate, Betts went hitless in his prior 22 postseason at-bats and hadn’t hit a home run in 16 straight postseason games.
The Dodgers will take on the Mets in Game 1 of the NLCS on Saturday.
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