The Los Angeles Dodgers did what some believed was was impossible, erasing a 3-1 deficit against the Atlanta Braves in the National League Championship Series to earn a trip back to the World Series.
Game 7 was a stressful one on Sunday night as the Dodgers found themselves trailing 2-0 early but were able to pull even and later fight back after again falling behind to earn a 4-3 victory to win the series.
One of the big swings of the night came off the bat of Kiké Hernandez. He stepped to the plate as a pinch-hitter with the Dodgers trailing 3-2 in the sixth inning and proceeded to launched a game-tying home run to left field.
“I was ready from first pitch of the game. Mentally prepared, physically ready, envisioning AB situations,” Hernandez said. “Once Minter came in the game, I was ready to go. I saw him warming up so I started getting going again. I faced him twice before, so I was trying to go back in my memory and remember those ABs.
“I was able to stay inside the zone, spoil some pitches once I got to two strikes, doing everything I could to get on base. He made one mistake and I was lucky enough to put a good swing on it.”
Cody Bellinger then hit the game-winning home run in the seventh inning and Julio Urias tossed three perfect innings of relief to close it out.
The Dodgers were able to breeze through the regular season, finishing with the best record in baseball at 43-17. They then also breezed through the first two rounds of the playoffs, sweeping both the Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres to set up this matchup with the Braves.
While the NLCS didn’t get off to the start the Dodgers had hoped as they found themselves trailing 3-1 after the first four games, they never gave up hope and continued to fight to get back in the series.
“From the moment that we were able to put a season together once they figured out the COVID thing, everybody was expecting us to get to the World Series,” Hernandez said. “We were expecting to get to the World Series.
“Up to the point where we went down 3-1 in this series, we hadn’t really gone through any adversity at all during the season. That was the one thing. It was time to get it done. First time not just going through adversity but you’ve got nothing to lose.
“They’re the ones that got something to lose. They’ve got a 3-1 lead, they shouldn’t lose this series. We were able to take it one game at a time, one inning at a time. We were able to pull it off.
Hernandez will never forget Dodgers comeback
Hernandez has been through plenty of ups and downs in his time with the Dodgers, but it is clear this Game 7 win to get back to the World Series was a special one for him.
It was a little harder than we thought it was going to be, but I’m glad we pulled it off,” he said. “Being down 3-1 and coming back and winning in seven games is something I’ll never forget. It’s special, for sure.”
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events and more!
