TORONTO — The ball floated into shallow left field off the broken bat of Andrés Giménez, and Rogers Centre held its collective breath. The World Series hung in the balance.
The Dodgers held a two-run lead in the bottom of the ninth inning. Giménez represented the winning run — the World Series-winning run. The Blue Jays had put two men into scoring position with one out. When Giménez swatted a fastball from Tyler Glasnow to the opposite field, Addison Barger strayed halfway to third base, hoping he might be able to score the tying run if the ball dropped in.
“Stay up in the air,” was all Dodgers manager Dave Roberts could recall thinking. “Stay up in the air.”
It stayed up in the air just long enough. Barger strayed just far enough. And now this classic of a Fall Classic is headed to Game 7 on Saturday night after the Dodgers’ 3-1 victory in Game 6 on Friday.
Kiké Hernández — who else? — made sure of it. The Dodgers’ veteran left fielder has developed a reputation for big-time October moments. On Friday, Playoff Kiké delivered one of his most memorable moments to date.
Hernández had Giménez played perfectly. His jump was perfect, too. On the run, Hernández tracked down the soft line drive, then, in one motion, fired on one hop to second base, where Miguel Rojas made a smooth pick.
Barger was out. The Dodgers had won. Shortstop Mookie Betts leapt into Hernández’s arms as Hernández reached the infield — still running after the momentum from his throw carried him toward second base.
“Pretty epic ending,” said Rojas.
No kidding. This was an all-timer of a finish, largely made possible by Hernández. Let’s start with the positioning, which was perfect:
“With Glasnow’s stuff, I was anticipating him hitting the ball to the left side of the field,” Hernández said. “I was playing shallow, tying run on second base. I just wanted to make sure that if he got a hit through the six-hole, I was going to be shallow enough to keep the tying run that was at second base, keep him at third.”
Hernández’s positioning was perfect. So was the play itself. Hernández still needed to cover some serious ground — 52 feet in 3.4 seconds to be exact. His read off the bat was exquisite. Hernández got the best jump imaginable to make a catch Barger never saw coming.
“I was pretty surprised he got to it,” Barger said. “Off the bat, I thought it was going to get over the shortstop’s head. I didn’t think it was going to travel that far. It was kind of a bad read. Obviously, I was too far off the base. … I was being too aggressive.”
Per Statcast, Hernández’s jump was 7.3 feet better than the league average (with jump defined as feet covered in the correct direction within the first 3 feet after the ball was hit). If Hernández’s jump is any worse, it’s possible he still makes the catch. But he almost certainly isn’t able to double up Barger.
Which brings us to the final part of the play — one that shouldn’t be overlooked. Hernández did his best to get the ball out of his glove as quickly as possible. The throw was accurate — but it came with an in-between hop.
“I was coming in full speed, so I didn’t want to really throw hard, because I was probably going to throw it over his head,” said Hernández.
Added Rojas: “When he threw the ball to second, I said, ‘No way this ball is getting past me.’”
Indeed, Rojas put the finishing touches on the play — and Game 6. He planted his left foot on the bag, then let the ball travel past him, which gave him additional time to read the hop. He squeezed the ball in his glove, a split second before Barger’s left hand hit the bag.
The Dodgers poured out of the dugout as Rogers Centre settled into a hushed silence. Briefly, hope was restored when the umpiring crew announced that a replay review was underway. Just as quickly, a conclusive angle appeared on the center-field video board. The Dodgers began their procession of hugs and handshakes, as the ballpark began emptying out.
“This has been a great World Series,” Hernández said. “The fact that we’re getting a Game 7 is well-deserved.”
In large part because of Hernández himself.
“Heck of a baseball player,” Roberts said. “Heck of a play.”
