Carlos Hernández: “I go out to do my best in every game”

Ana Sanchez

@ sanchez14_ana

Getting a position in the rotation of a Major League team is difficult, hard work is essential to be an ace and Carlos Hernández has taken care of that.

His quality starts and his great effort have made him consider, by manager Matheny, part of the starters of the Kansas City Royals team that are having a great restructuring and the Creole is included there as a key piece for the next season.

“It’s something I’ve worked for, and achieving what I hoped for is something that, really, feels very good and satisfying,” said the Bolívar native.

The Bolivarian has gradually become one of the most prominent Venezuelan pitchers in the final stretch of the Major League Baseball regular season. August was undoubtedly a great month for him, he excelled and gained the confidence of the Royals strategist even more. The team won four of the five games Carlos Hernández pitched last month and held opponents to an average of .192 (he allowed only 28 hits in 104 official at-bats), the fifth-best of all pitchers on the young circuit.

“I’m just looking to attack the batters, if it were up to me to make the batters out with a single pitch, attacking the zone and being on top of the batter are the things that have helped me so far,” said Carlos.

Hernández has starred in four games against the Whitelegs, three as a starter. The last of them, on Friday, September 3, in which he got to throw a 100-mile-per-hour fastball and took the victory.

In his last seven appearances (six starts), he is 4-0 with a 1.91 ERA (42.1 IP / 9 CL). Period in which Kansas City exhibited a 6-1 record.

From reliever to starter. The Creole pitcher was promoted to Las Mayores in September 2020, where he pitched five times and acted as a starter three times.

The Bolivarian made his first career start on September 12, 2020, just days after debuting with the Royals and as a replacement for the experienced Matt Harvey, who had been sent to the bullpen.

In his role as a reliever he threw more than two innings, so his change to starter did not affect him at all and it is something that at some point he thought would happen, because he always went out to show that he could earn a spot in the rotation.

Hernández started this season as a reliever and achieved his first victory in the Major Leagues, and in the month of July he began with his starting role that he has played in a good way so far.

The preparation as a starter is different and he knows when he has to go out to battle against the rival team. “You already know the exact day and you also have the days to prepare for the new start, on the other hand, in the relay you have to be prepared every day,” emphasized the Bolivarian.

Pitcher of the month. His motto is to work and go out and give all the best of him every day, earning his position in the rotation was something he had in mind and planned to happen in the short or long term, but this 2021 has been a dream for Hernández who has been fulfilling each proposed goal.

His great work from the mound last month gave him a well-deserved award and that is that he was named Pitcher of the month for the Kansas City Royals, something he sees as an impetus to keep working.

“The work is being noticed and it is something that feels very good to receive that award,” celebrated Carlos Hernández.

Tomorrow Hernández will be the starter of the game against the Baltimore Orioles, whom he has faced only one and took the loss in four innings.

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