Hernandez comes through when it counts for D'backs
Livan Hernandez walked into the Wrigley Field press room Saturday night, his red windbreaker a little redder, his gray pants a little grayer, the victims of some obvious postgame celebrating.
But as he made his way to the podium it became obvious he wasn't quite finished, the full bottle of bubbly protruding from the back pocket of his pants and the big smile on his face providing the clues. And why wouldn't he be ready to continue the celebration?
The 33-year-old Cuban ex-patriot had just tossed 6 innings of 1-run ball -- wriggling out of more jams than Michael Scott in the process -- to propel the young Arizona Diamondbacks to a 5-1 victory over the Cubs, punctuating a three-game sweep in front of a stunned sellout crowd on the North Side.
Hernandez sure didn't take the easy route Saturday, but that's par for his course. In each of the first five innings he pitched, the Cubs had at least one batter reach base.
But each time the Cubs threatened and the big crowd started revving up, Hernandez responded with the silencer, inducing 3 double play balls in 5 innings to keep an already comfortable Arizona lead really comfortable.
"I've been in this situation before," Hernandez said. "I see the fans get up when (the count) is 3-1 or something -- it doesn't bother me. I know what I've got to think and I know what I've got to do.
"I'm not the kind of guy to get nervous."
That's because nothing that happens on a ball field will ever remotely compare with what he went through growing up.
"Like my family has told me a lot of times, pressure is nothing," he said. "I had more pressure in Cuba when I'd get up in the morning looking for something (to eat) and not finding anything."
While Hernandez may have been cool as a cucumber Saturday, tossing 101 pitches, 54 for strikes, his manager Bob Melvin wasn't always a comfortable spectator. But Melvin knew coming in that would be the case.
"Well, you know, he's a guy that you got to have some patience with because he will have some runners on base and he will find ways to pitch himself out of it," Melvin said. "This time of the season it can be a little bit more difficult to be patient at times, but, you know, up until a certain point in the game, unless it really looks like his stuff just isn't there, we don't have better.
"He's done it so many times. He's been in this type of situation before and had an outstanding tonight."
It was almost fitting that the only 1-2-3 inning Hernandez tossed all night was his last as he upped his record to 5-0 in seven division and championship series games.
He's hoping to improve that mark in the NLCS, but for now is happy to be celebrate a win on a day a lot of people thought the Cubs had their best chance to get back into the NLDS.
"It feels great to come to the stadium and do the best you can for the team," Hernandez said, still smiling. "These young guys are another family. Everybody know I love these guys."
Was that a cork popping?