LOS ANGELES -- What do Jim Thome, David Ortiz, Aaron Judge and Kiké Hernández have in common?
They have all hit exactly 17 postseason home runs.
One of those four names is not quite like the others. Thome and Ortiz are Hall of Famers, and Judge is well on track to join them in Cooperstown one day.
Hernández is no Hall of Famer. His regular-season track record is that of a useful role player. But from the moment the calendar flips to October, Hernández transforms under the lights. His 106 postseason games are more than each of the other three has played, and he has as many World Series rings as Ortiz.
As the Dodgers look to pull off the fifth three-peat in World Series history this postseason, the return of "October Kiké" could be just the spark they need.
"He converts himself into this kind of monster when it comes to the playoffs and when it matters the most," Miguel Rojas said. "He wants the situation. He wants the moment. He wants to be the guy."
Hernández has a knack for showing up, with an .826 OPS in the postseason in his career compared with .706 in the regular season. Playing in his 11th postseason, he has had more experience in these situations than the average big leaguer, but here's what's remarkable: No matter what happens through his team's first 162 games, he always seems to find a way to turn it on in the playoffs.
Even Hernández can't quite put into words what is different about him in the postseason. He has connected it to his ADHD, explaining that playoff baseball brings a similar feeling to deadline pressure that enhances his focus in critical games.
"It's almost like when you're in school and you have a project for two months, and then you leave it for the last day," Hernández said last year. "The way my brain works is, like, I'm not going to do anything until the last day, and I'm going to prepare everything on that day, and that's kind of a similar way. I'm able to stay in the moment and stay really, really focused for nine innings or 18 innings. So, I don't know."
Such has been the case in a small sample size this year. Hernández began the season on the injured list while recovering from offseason surgery on his left elbow, then was sidelined again due to a left oblique strain after appearing in just two games. In the aftermath of the injuries, Hernández hit .222 with a .671 OPS in 41 games, his fewest in 13 big league seasons.
In Octobers past, manager Dave Roberts has found opportunities to pencil Hernández into his starting lineup, no matter what kind of regular season he had. Roberts deviated from that trend in the first two games of this year's NL Division Series against the Braves, in which Hernández did not get a plate appearance.
That changed in Game 3, when Roberts shuffled his lineup to optimize the Dodgers' approach against southpaw Chris Sale. Hernández drew the start at third base, and in his second at-bat, he took Sale deep for a two-run shot.
Hernández's blast brought him even with Thome, Ortiz and Judge on the postseason leaderboard, one shy of moving into a tie with seven others -- including teammate Freddie Freeman -- for the 11th-most all-time.
"We needed a little bit of that Kiké dust," Roberts said. "He's always prepared. And he loves moments like this. He has a way to lock in."
The Dodgers have as deep a postseason lineup as they have had in some time, so it's more difficult for Roberts to find everyday opportunities for Hernández than it was in the past.
Hernández could see more time at second base, as Tommy Edman was hitless in the NLDS. He could platoon with Max Muncy at third, although Muncy has homered three times in his past four games. Hernández has also appeared in left field this postseason, but he's more likely to slot in for his late-game defense than take at-bats away from Teoscar Hernández.
But no matter how his playing time shakes out, Hernández will play an important role for the Dodgers this postseason. He's a key part of the veteran core that has won three of the past six World Series -- on whom the team is leaning with a three-peat bid in play.
"It’s something I take a lot of pride in, but don’t really think about it too much," Hernández said. "It’s something that once I’m done playing, I’m going to look back on and be really proud of because of the way my career has gone in terms of finding myself each and every year in October."