Dodgers utility man Kiké Hernández sat with manager Dave Roberts on the dugout bench for a while after he was lifted from a 15-6 win over the Rockies on Tuesday with what the team later called a left oblique strain.
It was his second game of the season, after starting the year on the injured list after offseason surgery on his left elbow. And he was driving the ball hard.
In his first at-bat, leading off the third inning, he launched a solo home run. In his second, he doubled as part of a four-run rally in the fourth inning. But the broadcast caught him wincing after that second hit.
After talking with Roberts, Hernández stood up and disappeared down the tunnel. He was replaced in the lineup by Hyeseong Kim, with Miguel Rojas sliding over from second base to third in the top of the fifth inning.
Hernández had been filling in for Max Muncy at third base, while Muncy recovered from being hit by a pitch on the right wrist Friday in Milwaukee. But Muncy threw to bases and hit on the field before the game Tuesday, and Roberts said if all went well he could be in the lineup Wednesday.
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So, the Dodgers will have options in the infield. But Hernández made an immediate difference in just two games.
After Hernández helped jump-start the offense Tuesday, it kept piling on. Mookie Betts had a two-homer game, his first in over a year. Andy Pages’ four-hit game tied a career high. The team combined for 17 hits and 15 runs, both matching season highs.
By the end, both teams had position players pitching. And the Rockies scored all but one of their runs off Rojas.