Hernandez hits 1st HR as he fulfills father's dream of playing in the bigs

PITTSBURGH -- Before Marlins rookie outfielder Heriberto Hernandez was born in Bonao, Dominican Republic, his father, José Heriberto Hernandez, had one dream for his son: to become a Major Leaguer.

So when Hernandez watched Pirates center fielder Oneil Cruz stop chasing his first career homer during Wednesday afternoon’s 5-2 Marlins loss at PNC Park, Hernandez immediately knew who would be the recipient of the milestone ball.

“He's the one that actually pushed me to play this game,” Hernandez said via interpreter Luis Dorante Jr. “He went through all the steps and all the stages as I was a little kid. … He's always been a big fan of the game. It's his favorite sport, and he’s always been a passionate fan.”

Batting third and starting in right field for Miami’s all-righty lineup against southpaw Bailey Falter, Hernandez got the club on the board with a leadoff homer in the sixth to trim the deficit to 4-1. Behind in the count 1-2, Hernandez sent a splitter out of the zone into Pittsburgh’s bullpen behind the center-field wall. The home run had an exit velocity of 103.6 mph and traveled a Statcast-projected 414 feet.

Two of the five hits allowed by Falter came off Hernandez’s bat, and both went for extra bases. He also doubled in the first but was stranded there.

“I thought even today, get on top of a couple fastballs, like he did, pulled one hard to left for the double, and then the home run, really impressive swing on a ball up and away to get on top of that and drive it out to a really big part of the ballpark,” manager Clayton McCullough said. “I think Bert has really taken some aggressive swings. He's looked under control with balance in the box. I think he's swinging at pitches that he's wanting to fire at, and right now, he's not only putting some good swings together, [but] he's finding a lot of grass.”

The 25-year-old Hernandez is trying to take advantage of every opportunity after spending seven seasons in the Minors before receiving his first Major League callup last month. With an .878 career OPS, his resume included being named an MiLB.com organization All-Star in 2018-19 with the Rangers and in 2022 with the Rays. He was an Arizona Complex League Postseason All-Star in '19. Hernandez also came with the reputation of raking against left-handed pitching.

President of baseball operations Peter Bendix and Hernandez overlapped with the Rays from 2021-23, so there was familiarity when Hernandez signed a Minor League contract with the Marlins on Nov. 13. He appeared in 12 Grapefruit League games this spring, going 8-for-28 (.286) with three doubles and six RBIs. He struck out 12 times and walked four.

Hernandez made enough of an impression to be on the club’s radar, but there was no space for the non-roster invitee come Opening Day with an outfield mix of Kyle Stowers, Griffin Conine, Dane Myers and Derek Hill. Jesús Sánchez (left oblique strain) would later rejoin the group.

By May 30, however, the Marlins’ roster dynamic had changed. Conine and Hill are sidelined, with the former done for the season. Miami underwent more of a makeover by designating for assignment both Matt Mervis and Ronny Simon while activating Myers. The club selected the contracts of Hernandez and Jack Winkler from Triple-A Jacksonville as corresponding moves.

At the time of the callup, Hernandez had a slash line of .220/.319/.454 with a team-high nine homers and 21 RBIs in 41 games.

“He swung the bat well in big league camp, and I think that there's at-bat quality there,” McCullough said of Hernandez. “Bert has some power, and he's showing some extra hitability. He showed that in Spring Training. [He] can hit left-handed pitching, so I think we liked the bat a lot coming into this year. He showed well in camp, and thus far, early signs have been very good up here.”

After opening his Major League career hitless in his first six at-bats, Hernandez is 10-for-19 (.526) with two doubles, one homer and three RBIs.

“I'm trying to just get better in every way, in every aspect of my game,” Hernandez said. “I think I can do that. Just continue working really hard and not let the speed of the game [dictate] any situation of the game itself. So I want to be on my own pace.”