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You just call out my name

And you know, wherever I am

I’ll come runnin’

To see you again

Winter, spring, summer or fall

All you have to do is call

And I’ll be there

You’ve got a friend.  

‘You’ve Got a Friend’ – Carole King – 1971

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With no outs in the bottom of the 10th inning on Sunday afternoon and the Pittsburg Pirates up 5-4 having scored their placed runner in the top half of the inning, Dodgers third baseman Kiké Hernández doubled on a sharp line drive to left easily scoring Dodgers placed runner Miguel Rojas from second base to tie the game at 5-5.

This was followed by a huge nine-pitch/no-out walk by Dodgers center fielder Andy Pages, which (unfortunately) was followed by a strikeout of Dodgers right fielder Jason Heyward and a pop foul out by Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani, with Kiké – representing the winning run – still standing on second base.

But you’ve got a friend.

Teoscar Hernández is your friend.

The 31-year-old Cotui, Dominican Republic native and Dodgers left fielder roped a sharp single to right field to drive in his namesake to give the Dodgers the dramatic 6-5 come-from-behind walk-off win in front of a very loud Dodger Stadium crowd of 50,389.

“You know, he was attacking hitters, he didn’t want to get behind on the hitters,” Teoscar told SportsNet LA’s Kirsten Watson of newly-appointed Pirates right-handed closer David Bednar immediately following the game. “I was trying to get something in the middle of the plate that I could put in play, not trying to do too much because of the stuff that he has and I just put the barrel on that one and I get the hit.”

“Very confident, and runs batted in means something. That’s the name of the game,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts answered, when asked postgame how confident he is when Teoscar comes up to bat in those situations. “Pitchers pitch you differently, hitters respond differently when it gets hot, runners in scoring position, and Teo’s heartbeat doesn’t rise, and it just looks like he embraces being in those spots.

“He shortens up his swing, makes contact, and, you know, that’s why he’s driven in close to 80 runs already, so, I just… it’s hard to find the guy that, you know, you want in that spot more than Teo,” added the Dodgers skipper.

Yes, we’ve got a friend.

Play Ball!

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