It was almost a grand return to the Boston Red Sox lineup for Kiké Hernández on Tuesday.
Hernández, who had been sidelined for over two months due to a hip flexor strain, stepped into the batter's box with the bases loaded in the bottom of the first inning and launched the first pitch he saw deep to left field that had the Red Sox jumping off the bench.
"He hit the ball in the air with the bases loaded," Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters, as seen on NESN postgame coverage. "We all thought he had it."
The long fly ball from Hernández that looked like it had a chance to leave the ballpark died just short of the warning track, though. It did result in a sacrifice fly that scored Alex Verdugo as part of a four-run first inning in a 5-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park.
It ended up being Hernández's most productive at-bat of the night, as he finished 0-for-3 with two strikeouts. Despite the hitless outing in his first game back, Cora wasn't concerned about the offensive output.
"He was OK. It's not easy. Handful of at-bats and come here and compete," Cora told reporters. "But he'll play good defense, he'll put quality at-bats (together)."
Hernández's defense was on display, but not at his normal position in center field. Instead, Hernández got the start at shortstop for the first time all season, taking the place of Xander Bogaerts, who got an extra day of rest after fouling a ball off his foot in the series against the New York Yankees.
Hernández still provided sound defense in the infield, and while it wasn't a productive offensive performance, the intangibles he brings when he's in the lineup certainly serve as a benefit.
"He'll keep building up," Cora said. "It's good for him to be out there. The energy and all that, the baseball IQ, we'll take that every night. We'll take the baseball player. And offensively, he'll get there. It's just one night. Keep building, keep getting better and he will contribute."
