Kiké Hernández keeps finding another gear when the calendar turns to October, and on Tuesday night he turned that reputation into MLB history.
In the Dodgers’ 3-1 win over the Atlanta Braves, Hernández delivered the swing that broke open a scoreless game, and Los Angeles grabbed a 2-1 series lead. The victory put the Dodgers one win away from a third straight National League Championship Series trip and their fifth in the last seven seasons.
The big blast came in the fourth inning, when Hernández launched a two-run homer to left field with Andy Pages aboard. That swing not only put the Dodgers in front, it also pushed Hernández into a statistical lane all by himself. Per OptaSTATS, he became the only player in MLB history with at least 10% of his career home runs, counting the regular season and postseason, coming in the postseason among players with at least 100 total homers.
Hernández is now at 11.3% - 17 of his 151 career home runs have come in October. The next closest player, according to OptaSTATS, is Astros second baseman Jose Altuve at 9.4%.
For Hernández, the numbers fit the image. The 35-year-old has spent years turning from a dependable regular-season utility piece into a different kind of force once the playoffs arrive. His career OPS jumps from .706 in the regular season to .831 in the postseason, and his October résumé keeps growing.
“It’s something I take a lot of pride in, but don’t think about it too much,” Hernández said after the game. “Once I’m done playing, I’m going to be someone that looks back and be really proud of my career because of how my career has gone in terms of finding myself each and every year in October.”
He has said before that the postseason brings out a sharper level of focus and adrenaline than the long regular-season grind. The results back that up. In 105 postseason games, the Puerto Rican native is hitting .272 with a .831 OPS, 17 home runs, 44 RBIs and 81 hits in 298 at-bats.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts didn’t hide what Hernández means in October.
“He's a big-time player,” Roberts said after the game. “I said earlier, we needed a little bit of that Kiké dust.
And he's always prepared. And he loves moments like this.
He has a way to lock in. ... It's just one of those things that having him in a lineup in the postseason just adds that extra sort of urgency, that kind of grit that you need.”
The Dodgers’ offense has leaned hard on power in this series. Through three games in the NLDS, they’ve scored 10 runs, and every one of them has come via the home run. That marks the longest streak to start a postseason in MLB history.
Hernández’s homer was followed two batters later by Freddie Freeman, who drove a solo shot to right-center against his former team to make it 3-0.
That cushion was more than enough for Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who delivered seven strong innings and looked fully in control on Tuesday night. The 28-year-old gave up one run on four hits while striking out 10 across 98 pitches.
Yamamoto is now 33-0, including the postseason, when he receives at least three runs of support.
The Dodgers will try to finish off the series on Wednesday, with first pitch set for 3 p.m. PT.
In Other News...
Braves May Have Exposed A Costly Dodgers NLDS Problem
Miguel Rojas exited Game 3 of the 2026 NLDS after fouling a pitch off himself in the eighth inning and feeling low back pain, a development the Dodgers confirmed on their official social media. The stopgap infielder had already appeared to be working through something earlier in the night, with his back first bothering him after he fielded a ground ball in the fifth inning.
For a Dodgers club trying to navigate October with as little disruption as possible, the timing is the real concern. If Rojas cannot continue in the series, Los Angeles may be forced to make a postseason roster change, a move that would test the teams infield depth at a point when every available defender matters even more. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Suddenly Face A Miguel Rojas Problem In The NLDS
Miguel Rojas night ended early in the Dodgers National League Division Series game against the Braves after he fouled off a pitch and started showing signs of discomfort with a low back injury. Tommy Edman came on as a pinch hitter in his place, leaving Los Angeles to sort through an immediate issue at a spot where Rojas has helped steady things throughout the postseason run.
The bigger concern now is what this means for the rest of the series, because the Dodgers do not yet know how available Rojas will be moving forward. Any lingering limitation could force roster and lineup adjustments at a critical point, and for a team trying to keep its infield options intact in October, even a short-term absence would matter. [Read more 🡒]
Dave Roberts Made One Dodgers Gamble Look Brilliant In Game 3
Dave Roberts spent Game 3 pushing the right buttons, and the Dodgers benefited from nearly every one of them. He shuffled the batting order and got Kike Hernandez into a spot where he could make an impact, then watched Hernandez deliver a key two-run homer that helped set the tone. It was the kind of lineup tweak that can look minor before first pitch and inspired once the game starts bending your way.
Roberts also managed the night with a steady hand on the mound, letting Yoshinobu Yamamoto work seven innings before turning to Tanner Scott and Edwin Diaz to close the door. The sequencing mattered as much as the names themselves, giving Los Angeles a cleaner path through the late innings and underscoring how much this team can gain when its manager is willing to be aggressive at the right moments. [Read more 🡒]