A Kike Hernandez pep talk may have been the difference on Friday in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ win over the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Dodgers were nursing a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the 9th inning at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Calif. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts made the polarizing decision to turn to Diaz for the save.
Diaz, who entered the game with three blown saves in his last four opportunities, looked shaky as ever to start the outing. He ended up hitting leadoff man Andrew Vaughn to start the inning, prompting Hernandez to walk up to the mound and send Diaz a message.
Kiké Hernández
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Edwin Díaz
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Whatever Hernandez said paid off. Diaz bent but didn’t break in a Dodgers’ 3-1 win, inducing the ground ball he needed with the bases loaded to escape a jam unscathed.
Asked about the interaction with Hernandez after the game, Diaz shared what the veteran utility man had said to help calm his nerves.
“He told me, ‘You’re the best pitcher in the world. We got you. We’ve got your back. Make pitches. Go slowly,'” Diaz said.
“I was a little bit fast in the moment. … He’s a veteran player. He knows about the game, so I just listened to him and tried to do my job.”
Diaz has looked the furthest thing from the “best pitcher in the world” during his first season with the Dodgers. He came into Friday’s contest with an absurd 11.57 ERA and 2.49 WHIP over 11.2 innings pitched.
Diaz didn’t have the shutdown inning fans have been hoping to see against the Brewers. But he did just enough to post a zero on the scoreboard, with a little help from Kike.
