LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers have had a tough time for months, largely of their own making. Generating any tangible momentum has been difficult and fleeting. Kiké Hernández has felt it. His third return to Los Angeles was not fruitful. He woke up Saturday morning in the midst of the worst offensive season of his career, but he was greeted with an accomplishment: His wife, Mariana, had thrown a party with his friends and family to commemorate the veteran’s 10 years in the Major Leagues.

By the end of the night, he was a hero twice, hitting a tying home run in the ninth inning and a tying single an inning later as the Dodgers secured a 7-6 walk-off victory over the Boston Red Sox. The afternoon was a frantic one. The Dodgers’ bullpen twice blew leads. Their closer gave up a two-run home run. They fumbled a bases-loaded rally on a check-swing double play.

Not much has come easy. For Hernández, it has been rewarding nonetheless.

“I’m just really happy that this happened and that I got through it,” Hernández said. “I haven’t been able to get through so much this year.”

He struck a reflective tone. Perhaps it was the significance of the day and its long duration. Or it was an acknowledgement of a season gone wrong. He noted the small circumstances that accompanied his memorable day — that his game-tying home run came off Kenley Jansen, the dominant closer he’d played behind for years in Los Angeles and then Boston, or that he turned 10 in a game with two of the clubs with whom he’d played all but 42 of his 1,129 major league games.

Saturday morning, a group gathered to celebrate Hernández at his home. His wife had made a video, stitching together testimonials from back home in Puerto Rico from those who had influenced every step of Hernández’s journey. Five Dodgers players will have reached the milestone by the end of the year, and each has found a way to find something special in it. The festivities lasted about an hour before Hernández returned to what had become his reality in Los Angeles. The 32-year-old re-signed with the Dodgers after a frenzied free-agent stint, knowing he would do most of his work in a part-time role. The Dodgers hoped that placing Hernández largely against left-handed pitchers would help him flourish again after an inconsistent 2 1/2 seasons as a regular in Boston.

KIKE KNEW. photo.twitter.com/QhzeBPgQDK

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 21, 2024

It hasn’t worked. Hernández entered Saturday with a .557 OPS and a .582 OPS against left-handed pitching. The gulf between the top and bottom of the Dodgers lineup is wide. The stat line is getting closer and closer to the magnifying glass every day. There are only 10 days left until the trade deadline, and reinforcements are needed.

“Kiké, it’s always tough for him because I think he sees himself in a certain light, which I think all players should,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “But I think he understands how he fits into this club. A lot of our conversations that we have is when you have that clarity or that kind of understanding, you perform better. And so he has a certain role. I count on him a lot.”

Hernández was not in the starting lineup on Saturday, coming on in the seventh inning to face Red Sox left-hander Cam Booser, but missed four pitches.

“I felt like a fan, just waving in the air, waving and missing the ball,” Hernández said.

He had seen countless save attempts from Jansen, but had confronted him only once before stepping into the box to start the ninth inning. He had swung at the only pitch he saw, breaking his bat on a two-seam fastball and driving the pitch to left field for a flyout while Hernández was with the Red Sox and Jansen was with the Atlanta Braves in 2022. Jansen reprimanded him at the time, telling him to keep trying to get his trademark cutter.

That cutter could very well land Jansen in Cooperstown. And this time, Hernández didn’t have to look much else. Jansen hasn’t used his two-seamer much this year. Same goes for the slider.

“There’s no mystery what Kenley is trying to do,” Hernández said.

Jansen threw five cutters to Hernández. Hernández hit one and watched another catch the inside corner. When Jansen’s last cutter came back across the plate, Hernández hit it. Euphoria followed.

It was the first home run Jansen allowed this season against 134 batters.

“I was a little unconscious,” Hernández said, “because it had been a while since I did something big in this stadium.”

It didn’t take long for the next one. Hernández’s swing forced extra innings. That stalemate didn’t last a batter, as Tyler O’Neill hit his second go-ahead two-run homer of the night to regain Boston’s advantage. When Hernández’s turn came around in the bottom half, the Dodgers trailed by a run and were on their last out.

Hernández waited out sweeper after sweeper from righty reliever Greg Weissert before finding a strike zone sinker he could handle. He drove it up the middle, rounded first base and broke through to second to ensure Andy Pages would score safely.

When Will Smith won the game with a walk-off single an inning later, Roberts turned back to Hernández.

“I depend on him, and when he’s in that fighting mode… I mean, those two ABs he took late, they were huge at-bats,” Roberts said. “I see the ability, and it’s just about getting that consistency every night.”

For one night, at least, and an important one, Hernández was exactly what the Dodgers had in mind.

(Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press)