Major League Baseball does not have a mercy rule.
The Los Angeles Dodgers could’ve used one Tuesday night.
Facing a nine-run deficit in the bottom of the sixth inning and with their pitching staff resembling a triage unit, the Dodgers did what any analytically inclined, resource-conscious contender would do in an 11-1 blowout loss to the Padres: They put utility man Enrique Hernández on the mound.
Yes, that Enrique Hernández.
To his credit, Hernández wasn’t terrible. He threw 2 1/3 innings, allowed just one earned run on three hits, walked two, and struck out no one — continuing his season-long streak of effectiveness-without-miss. His ERA now sits at 2.08 through 4 1/3 innings across three appearances this year. That’s not a typo. He’s pitched more than some of the actual pitchers.
Los Angeles Dodgers Infielder Has Nasty Cutter
And if you think hitters were just teeing off for fun, think again. Padres rookie center fielder Jackson Merrill declared Hernández threw him “the nastiest cutter I’ve ever seen.” ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez asked if he was joking. Merrill insisted he wasn’t.
Hernández retired Merrill on a ground ball. The same Merrill who had a multi-hit night and drove in a run. The same Merrill who might still be laughing about it 24 hours later.
This was not a typical position-player-pitching cameo, the sort of quirky novelty reserved for the late innings of a laugher. Hernández entered with three full innings to go, making franchise history as the earliest position player to pitch in a game since the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles in 1958.
If the goal was to preserve the bullpen, mission accomplished.
If the goal was to maintain dignity, results may vary.
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Manager Dave Roberts had few choices. With only four healthy starters, an overworked bullpen leading the majors in innings pitched, and the ghost of a functional rotation lurking somewhere behind Tyler Glasnow’s MRI results and Blake Snell’s pitch limits, the Dodgers went full white flag before the seventh-inning stretch. They left minor league call-up Matt Sauer on the Petco Park mound for 111 pitches, 13 hits, and nine earned runs. Then came Hernandez, protected by his batting helmet, armed with not much more than good vibes and breaking balls.
“It doesn’t feel good,” Roberts said afterward. Not exactly the postgame quote you want framed in the clubhouse.
There were, of course, other oddities in San Diego’s offensive outburst. Backup catcher and noted non-slugger Martín Maldonado hit a solo home run. Manny Machado piled up three hits and five RBIs. Luis Arraez had two doubles and scored four times. Yet the game’s most confounding highlight remains the image of Hernández, perched on the mound, casually navigating a professional lineup like it was Sunday softball.
It would be funny — if it wasn’t also indicative of how precariously thin the Dodgers’ pitching depth has become. With Shohei Ohtani still limited to DH duties, Glasnow, Snell, May, Buehler, Kershaw and Sheehan all injured or recovering, and the bullpen taped together with hope and caffeine, Hernández has gone from clubhouse prankster to bullpen insurance policy.
He is, in a way, the Dodgers’ most consistent reliever right now. And he might be their most entertaining.
For a team still leading the division at 40-28, it’s both a testament to their talent and a reminder of how fragile success is in a 162-game marathon. The Padres (38-28), now just a game back, will try to take the series in Wednesday’s finale. The Dodgers, meanwhile, hope Ben Casparius can pitch deep enough into the game to avoid another Hernández sighting.
Or maybe not.
After all, when your ERA is better than half the bullpen’s, who’s really the emergency option?