With the season on the line and his team clinging to a 1-0 lead, Elieser Hernandez once again came through for the LG Twins. His 3.2 innings of scoreless relief following ace Im Chang-kyu helped the Twins stave off elimination against the Samsung Lions and force a Game Four on Thursday. The outing was just the latest in a remarkable run for the right-hander, as Hernandez has proved invaluable in high-leverage situations.
Hernandez’s emergence as the Twins’ premier late-inning firearm is just the latest twist in a tumultuous campaign for the Venezuela right-hander. Following five years as a swingman with the Miami Marlins, including six fantastic starts during their 2020 wild-card campaign, Hernandez was traded to the Mets following the 2022 season. However, he would never end up pitching for the Mets, as a shoulder strain wiped out his entire 2023 season. He would return to the MLB mound in 2024, pitching 15.2 innings between the Brewers and Dodgers, who coincidentally ended up winning their respective division.
As it turned out, Hernandez’s best shot at postseason success would come in the KBO. He signed with the Twins on July 20 as an injury replacement for Casey Kelly, and over the final two months of the regular season, he would post a 4.02 ERA in 47 innings. Though nine of his 11 regular season appearances came as a starter, the Twins have used him in every possible situation out of the bullpen this postseason. The first two games against the KT Wiz saw him enter with a one-run deficit in the eighth inning and a two-run lead in the sixth, each time pitching two innings of scoreless relief. He would then earn his first KBO save in the Game 3 victory when he entered with one out in the ninth inning and retired both batters he faced before earning a more traditional save in Game 5 when he threw a scoreless ninth. In total, Hernandez did not allow a run while appearing in all five games of the series, allowing just five hits and striking out 10 in 7.1 innings.
A pair of blowout losses prevented Hernandez from being used in the first two games against the Lions, but his Game 3 appearance would prove just how trusted he is. Trying to prevent Im from seeing the Lions’ best hitters a third time, manager Youm Kyoung-you turned to Hernandez with one out in the sixth to navigate the middle of the order. Hernandez would quickly retire Yoon Jeong-bin and the red-hot Lewin Diaz, and Youm would ride him the rest of the way despite having a rested bullpen and only a one-run lead.
10월 17일 (목) 삼성 vs LG
KKK로 경기를 끝내는 야수의 심장 에르난데스#KBO2024 #KBO #하이라이트 #야구하이라이트 #스포라이트 #SPOLIGHT #4K #UHD #포스트시즌 #플레이오프 #PO #3차전 #LG트윈스 #LG #엘리저에르난데스 #에르난데스 #KKK #경기 #종료 pic.twitter.com/4SKAYjlkvv— 스포라이트 SPOLIGHT (@spolight___) October 17, 2024
The downside to Hernandez’s 60-pitch relief masterpiece is that he likely won’t be available to pitch again in Game 4 on Thursday, meaning the Twins will have to turn to other members of their bullpen to try and force a winner-take-all fifth game Without their best reliever, they will hope to get a strong start from 13-game winner Dietrich Enns. The veteran left-hander was supposed to pitch earlier in the series but got pushed back after a rainout. He will oppose Lions ace Denyi Reyes in what has all the makings of another pitcher’s duel. The first pitch from Jasmil Baseball Stadium will be at 5:30 a.m. EST.
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WBN KBO: https://worldbaseball.com/league/south-korea/
Photo Credit: Elieser Hernandez #57 of the Miami Marlins poses for a photo during the Miami Marlins Photo Day at Roger Dean Stadium on Wednesday, March 16, 2022 in Jupiter, Florida. (Photo by Scott Audette/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
