Former Padres All-Star Calls Out Dodgers for Using Kiké Hernandez to Pitch Tuesday

During the Los Angeles Dodgers' 11-1 pounding at the hands of the San Diego Padres on Tuesday evening, utility man Kiké Hernández entered the game during the sixth inning to eat some innings for the relievers while L.A. was down 9-0.

A position player had never entered a game for the Dodgers that early in franchise history, and given the intensity of the series with San Diego, a former Friars All-Star took to the internet to express his dismay.

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San Diego's former outfielder Wil Myers said on social media: "6th inning for a position player pitching seems a bit much, regardless of the score."

6th inning for a position player pitching seems a bit much, regardless of the score.
— Wil Myers (@wilmyers) June 11, 2025

Myers wasn't the only one unhappy with the move as manager Dave Roberts said the relief appearance was “very awkward." He added: "It doesn’t feel good.”

As the Dodgers were in the midst of the first three games of a 10-game stretch of divisional opponents — seven of those being against the Padres — the skipper talked about looking ahead to his bullpen usage and knowing the increased load they have taken on recently.

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“You just got to look at where our ’pen is at and appreciating what we have the next couple days,” said Roberts.

Matt Sauer was the bulk pitcher following an opener on Tuesday, allowing nine earned runs and 13 hits across 4.2 innings of work. Roberts touched on the reasoning for not pulling out the inexperienced pitcher as the game started to get out of hand.

“It wasn’t smart to chase and redline guys in the ’pen. I got to give credit to Matt, who pitched as much as he’s ever pitched and essentially took it for the team to try to stay away from other guys and give us a good chance to win a series. That’s what we came here to do and we’re in a position to do that.”

With the Dodgers defeating San Diego in Wednesday's rubber match, it appears Doc's strategy paid off. Looking toward the rest of the grueling stretch of competitive divisional matches, the innings eaten by Sauer and Hernández surely lightened the load for the bullpen and will hopefully show the anticipated results.

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