Dodgers utility man Kiké Hernandez had the game of his life Thursday night, hitting three home runs and driving in seven runs to lead his team to an 11-1 win over the Cubs to clinch the National League pennant and the franchise’s first World Series trip in nearly three decades.
Kiké Hernandez told his mom he would hit a home run in NLCS Game 5, then he hit 3
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But the story gets even better.
Hernandez, whose family is one of thousands in Puerto Rico affected by the devastation of Hurricane Maria, exchanged text messages with his mother before taking batting practice for Game 5 of the NLCS.
Hernandez, explaining the story to Greg Amsinger on MLB Network after the win, told his mom he was going to hit a home run. His mother, who was watching the game at his grandparents’ house on a generator-powered television, had one message for him.
“Don’t think about hitting a home run; just think about putting the ball in play,” she texted him.
“I said, ‘No Mom, I was thinking about that the first two games, and that didn’t work. Who cares about making contact? Everybody just wants homers,’” Hernandez said. “I said that jokingly, but I hit more home runs in the game than I did in BP.”
His outburst in Game 5 matched his home run total for his final 72 games of the regular season.
Hernandez’s three home runs matched an MLB postseason record for a game, and his seven RBI matched a League Championship Series record.
Hernandez hit .215/.308/.421 with 11 home runs on the season, including 10 home runs against left-handed pitchers. Two of his three home runs on Thursday were hit against southpaws.
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