Kiké Hernandez steals the show on Opening Day

It was a four-month wait, but we finally had Opening Day yesterday. The Dodgers opened the season with an 8-1 win over the San Francisco Giants. Looking at the box score and seeing eight runs and 11 hits by LA is kind of deceiving, though. Seven of those runs came in the final two innings, along with a five-spot they put up in the seventh.

Following the game, manager Dave Roberts said that he thought his team didn’t have a good night offensively. Well, he obviously wasn’t talking about Kiké Hernandez.

Hernandez carried the Dodgers’ offense, as he finished the game with four hits and five runs driven in.

“Kiké carried us tonight, which was great.” Roberts said.

He got things started in the fourth inning. After a two-out double from Corey Seager, Hernandez drove him in to tie the game with a single. This wouldn’t be his only time coming up in the clutch. Later in the game, Hernandez stepped to the plate with two runners on and a one-run lead.

On the second pitch he saw, he singled to right, bringing in both runs to give the Dodgers a comfortable 4-1 lead.

In classic Hernandez fashion, he added some humor following the game to explain his approach at the plate.

“First three at-bats [were like] ‘Get jammed, throw a grenade out there and hope they land,’” Hernandez said with a smile. “I’ve put a lot of work in. Stay consistent and try not to do so much. That’s the approach I took tonight and it paid off. Hopefully I can have a few more of these days.”

His night wasn’t done after that two-run hit. He stepped to the plate in the eighth inning and added on to his already incredible Opening Day performance.

“He’s always been a really smart, intelligent baseball player,” Roberts said. “Just really understanding what he’s really good at. He didn’t try to do too much. He got some confidence tonight. He’s a fun player to watch.”