Dusty on Kiké's 1st HR: 'I blame FOX'

October 16th, 2021

"All's well that ends well," the saying goes. So the Astros' 5-4 win to take a 1-0 lead in the American League Championship Series against the Red Sox on Friday night certainly alleviated any angst over a contest that Boston led for most of the first 5 1/2 innings.

But in the moment, it's always a different story. Such was the case when Houston manager Dusty Baker was live on air with play-by-play announcer Joe Buck and color commentator John Smoltz during FOX's telecast of Game 1 from Minute Maid Park.

Red Sox center fielder Kiké Hernández launched the first of two homers -- a game-tying shot to center field -- on a 4-for-5 night while Baker was speaking with the broadcasters in the third inning. 

"I blame FOX for that," Baker said jokingly after the game. "Because invariably, when you are doing it live, something usually always happens.

“I haven't seen a hitter this hot in the last week than Kiké Hernández. Boy, when I saw that ball go up, I was like, 'Oh, man, that was a blast.' Then he blasted another one. Yeah, it's not a good feeling when you know you're live on air and you see that ball leaving the ballpark.”

As Baker alluded to, it's not the first time we've seen a home run during a live in-game interview, and it won't be the last. Although, it's not every day that you see it happen during the ALCS.

But hey, all's well that ends well, right?