Kiké Hernández had a long way to go in the first inning to track down a Yordan Alvarez fly ball near the right-center field wall, but he should have had it, and he'll be the first to tell you that.
The Boston Red Sox saw their season end Friday with a loss to the Houston Astros in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series. The Astros got on the board in the first inning, with Alvarez roping the aforementioned ball towards the wall.
Hernández has been so good this season in center, but the ball caromed off his glove while he was in stride, allowing for Alvarez to reach with a double while scoring Alex Bregman from first.
No doubt it was a tough play, as evidenced by the fact that it wasn't scored an error, but Hernández readily admitted after the loss that he thought he should've had it.
"All three of us were shaded (to the opposite field), quite considerably," Hernández said after the game, as seen on NESN's postgame coverage. "Off the bat, I didn't think I was going to be able to get to the ball, I thought Hunter (Renfroe) was going to have a better chance than me at getting the ball based off where we were starting, or I thought it was going to be a homer.
"I wasn't even sure what was happening -- the ball kind of hung up there, and I was running to it, and halfway there I (realized) I might be able to get to it. I just happened to look up at Hunter to see where Hunter was, and by the time I looked back up the ball was almost already there. I got to the spot, but the ball kind of beat me to the spot and I wasn't able to close my glove in time.
"I thought about this for nine innings, and I still think if I catch that ball it's a different ballgame."
Ultimately, it wasn't defense that sank the Red Sox in Game 6, rather an inability to get anything going at the plate. But that play in the first, retrospectively, set the tone for what proved to be a disappointing night for Boston.
