Kik Hernndez plays October hero again, lifting Dodgers to crucial NLDS win

ATLANTA –– Seemingly every October, the same question arises.Over the years, Kiké Hernández has supplied a wide range of answers.Sometimes, it’s a simple joke: “I like Halloween,” he quipped two years ago.Others, it’s a more introspective –– albeit, self-deprecating –– response: “My brain’s all over the place, man,” he said before Game 7 of last year’s World Series.“I got really bad ADHD.”Usually, however, the explanation boils down to one simple factor, having to do with focus and fearlessness in the highest-pressure of situations.Why is he, as a relatively mediocre regular-season hitter over his 13-year career, such a consistent force in the playoffs?“It’s almost like when you’re in school and you have a project for two months, and then you leave it for the last day,” he said this time a year ago.

“That’s kind of a similar way [it works in the playoffs].I’m able to stay in the moment and, like, stay really, really focused.”In Game 3 of the National League Division Series on Tuesday night, that mentality paid off with more postseason heroics yet again.As usual, the Dodgers deployed Hernández like an ace up their sleeve, inserting him into the starting lineup to face star Braves pitcher Chris Sale with the best-of-five series knotted at one game apiece.And, as usual, Hernández delivered, producing the decisive swing on a two-run homer in the fourth inning of the Dodgers’ 3-1 win at Truist Park.“It’s something I take a lot of pride in, but don’t really think about it too much,” Hernández said.  “It’s something that, once I’m done playing, I’m going to look back on and be really proud of, because the way my career has gone, in terms of finding myself each and every year in October.”Indeed, Hernández has a way of looking –– and getting –– lost in the regular season, especially in recent years while being relegated to a part-time spot on the Dodgers’ bench.This season, the 35-year-old...