Kiké Hernández on Sunday hit a crucial RBI double for the Red Sox, allowing them to steal a 5-4 comeback victory and win the series against the New York Yankees.
But had he listened to Alex Cora’s advice ahead of the at-bat, things may not have played out so well.
Before walking up to the plate, the manager and utility player were seen discussing how they should approach the situation. With two runners on and no outs, Cora asked Hernández to bunt.
“He said that I should give myself a chance and bunt for a hit,” Hernández shared after the game. “And he’s like, ‘I hate to make you bunt but, you know, if you lay it down we’re gonna win this game. But I want you to bunt for a hit.’ And I kind of looked at him and I was like, ‘You want me to bunt with this sinker?’ And he’s like, ‘Yeah, you can. Let’s do it. You need to get the job done.” And I was like, ‘All right.'”
That’s not exactly how things played out, though.
Hernández had just seen Yankees reliever Jonathan Loáisiga throw five sinkers to his Red Sox teammates and simply couldn’t resist. Not to mention, he’s been pretty hot this month, going 31-for-111 with 20 extra-base hits and nine homers over his last 30 games.
“I put my poker face on and I walked to the plate, super confident that I could put the bunt down,” Hernández said. “When I got to the plate, I kind of peeked over to the dugout. I think he (Cora) noticed that the corners (corner infielders) were really far in. I haven’t bunted all year. So he didn’t expect the corners to be in and when they were in, he kind of gave me the ‘don’t bunt. Just swing the bat.’ And I’m glad it went that way because it worked.”
Hernández watched two curveballs miss the zone before the pitch he wanted came his way. The 30-year-old ripped a 98 mph sinker to left to bring in Christian Vázquez.
Eventually, pinch hitter Kevin Plawecki grounded out allowing Franchy Cordero to score, and Xander Bogaerts’ sacrifice helped Hernández cross home plate signifying the winning run.
