Dodgers’ Kiké Hernández returning to IL with oblique strain

Standing in front of his locker after the Dodgers’ 15-6 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday night, Kiké Hernández was crestfallen.

“I feel pretty defeated right now,” Hernández said.

On only his second day back with the Dodgers, the 34-year-old Hernández was already heading back to the injured list with a left oblique strain.

Hernandez had no idea how much time he would miss.

“I’ve never done an oblique,” he said. “Hopefully, it’s just a Grade 1 and at least two, three weeks and I’m back.”

However, Mookie Betts was sidelined for five weeks with what was described as a mild oblique strain. Alex Freeland will be called up from triple-A Oklahoma City to replace Hernández on the active roster, manager Dave Roberts said. 

Hernández was particularly bothered by how he was injured: In batting practice on Monday, shortly after he was activated.

“I was pretty embarrassed about it,” he said. “I had to talk to you guys right after I hit and tell you guys I was pain-free at the time. I thought it was just a weird tightness.”

Hernández had just come back after missing the first two months of the season rehabilitating his surgically-repaired elbow. He said he received treatment on his oblique before the game on Tuesday but felt “awful” when homering in his first at-bat in the third inning.

Hernández doubled an inning later, reaching third base on a passed ball and scoring on a double by Andy Pages.

“Today was one of those games that I felt like if I kept going, I was probably going to really, really put myself in danger of missing the rest of the season.”

So he alerted Roberts.

“I just told him I couldn’t go anymore,” Hernández said.

As Hernández sat on the bench with his head down, Roberts spoke to him.

“He understood how frustrated I was and he was trying to get me to keep my head up,” Hernández said. “Honestly, at that point, I was kind of not there, so I’m not necessarily sure everything that he said to me.”

Roberts told Hernández he was sorry this happened to him. Hernández told Roberts that he was sorry he couldn’t play.

“It’s a bummer,” Roberts said. “He’s missed a lot of time and worked hard to get back, was in great shape, added that spark that we had hoped.”

The Dodgers knew they could count on Hernández to introduce a measure of levity into a business-like clubhouse, as well as enforce a degree of accountability. What they couldn’t have expected was the instant impact he made on offense.

In the two games he played, he was 4 for 4 with a home run, two doubles, two runs scored and two runs batted in. The Dodgers won both games.

The small sample size backed up his contention that he would have a better regular season than he did last year when his elbow was bothering him. Hernández underwent an operation in mid-November to repair the joint.

“I was only able to give the team four at-bats,” Hernández said.

Adding to his frustration was that his return cost another player his job. When Hernández was activated on Monday, infielder Santiago Espinal was designated for assignment to create a roster spot for him.

The Dodgers will survive Hernández’s injury. He was the No. 9 hitter in the two games he played, a stand-in for Max Muncy, who was kept out of the lineup for four days after being hit by a pitch.

But with Hernández being as popular a player as he is, the atmosphere in the clubhouse was noticeably downcast on Tuesday, even after the Dodgers matched their season-high in runs scored.

“Obviously, he knows I love him and I want him here but there’s nothing I can do,” Betts said. “He’s not going to cry, so I’m not going to be a shoulder for him to cry on. But, I mean, it sucks. It sucks. We saw as soon as he came, he brought life to us.”

Roberts shared similar feelings.

“It’s not a season-ending thing, so that’s something to be hopeful with,” Roberts said. “But, yeah, it’s just a bummer.”

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