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Kiké Hernández says Dodgers ‘don’t give a fuck’ after winning NLCS in viral video | News, results, highlights, statistics and rumors

Kiké Hernández says Dodgers ‘don’t give a fuck’ after winning NLCS in viral video | News, results, highlights, statistics and rumors

Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

The Los Angeles Dodgers advanced to the NLCS on Friday night, defeating the San Diego Padres 2-0.

When Kiké Hernández was asked what sets this year’s version of the team apart from the groups that fell short in recent playoff appearances, he offered a blunt – if not somewhat cryptic – assessment:

FOX Sports: MLB @MLBONFOX

Kiké on the special features of this Dodgers team:
“The fact that we don’t give a shit.” pic.twitter.com/5JZ4ZgmORD

It’s unclear whether Hernández meant that the Dodgers didn’t care about any outside noise about their past failures, but simply played a more lighthearted and relaxed style of baseball, or perhaps a combination of both.

Offseason additions like Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto certainly helped.

The former was 0-for-4 on Friday and is just hitting .200 this postseason, but his epic 2024 season – he hit .310 with 54 homers, 130 RBI, 134 runs, 59 stolen bases and an OPS of 1.036, which puts him Easily achieved Leading candidate for NL MVP – helped give the Dodgers home-field advantage throughout the postseason, meaning the deciding Game 5 against the Padres was played at Dodger Stadium.

And Yamamoto was fantastic on the mound Friday, pitching five scoreless innings but allowing just two hits and a walk and striking out two. The Dodgers’ pitchers, believed to be the team’s potential weakness heading into the playoffs, held the Padres’ explosive offense scoreless over the final 24 innings of the NLDS.

Hernández played a starring role himself in Game 5, hitting an eventual game-winning solo home run in the second inning off Yu Darvish (Teoscar Hernández added a game-tying hit in the bottom of the seventh inning).

Bleacher Report @BleacherReport

The Dodgers take a 1-0 lead with a solo shot 💥
The winner of this game advances to the NLCS 👀
(above @MLB)pic.twitter.com/aK0oUzavwk

Star outfielder Mookie Betts was less provocative about the Dodgers after the win than Hernández, citing the team’s resilience.

“We’ve been through a lot of injuries and a lot of ups and downs,” he said on the Fox Sports broadcast. “But we fight and keep going. We have champagne on us right now.”

FOX Sports: MLB @MLBONFOX

“We went through a lot of ups and downs. But we fight and carry on. We have champagne on us right now.” 🍾
Mookie Betts comes to set to talk about it @Dodgers Series win against the Padres ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/3vam7JnWeY

“The crazy thing is, all season long everyone says, ‘The Dodgers are going to win the World Series,’ then we come to this series and now we’re the underdogs,” he added. “In some ways we are the underdogs. That’s what’s fun though, and when you’re on top everyone’s after you. Like I said, that’s part of the fun, that’s definitely what makes it difficult. But that’s what we signed up for.”

Next up for these Dodgers will be the tough, up-and-coming New York Mets, who fought their way into the postseason with timely and accurate performance. The Dodgers don’t really care who they face, if Hernández’s perspective on their mindset is anything to go by.