LOS ANGELES – Little has come easy for the Los Angeles Dodgers for months, largely of their own doing. Generating any tangible momentum has been difficult and fleeting. Kiké Hernández has felt that. His third return to Los Angeles has not been fruitful. He woke up Saturday morning amid the worst offensive season of his career, but he was greeted with an accomplishment: His wife, Mariana, had thrown together a celebration with his friends and family to commemorate the veteran’s 10 years of major-league service.
By night’s end, he was a hero twice over, slugging a tying home run in the ninth inning and stroking a tying single an inning later as the Dodgers rallied to a 7-6 walk-off victory over the Boston Red Sox. The afternoon was frenetic. The Dodgers bullpen twice blew leads. Their closer coughed up a two-run home run. They fumbled a bases-loaded rally on a check-swing double play.
Not much has come easy. For Hernández, it was rewarding nonetheless.
“I’m just really glad that this happened and I was able to come through,” Hernández said. “I haven’t really been able to come through that much this year.”
He struck a reflective tone. Perhaps it was because of the significance of the day and the longevity it means. Or it was an acknowledgment of a season that…
