DENVER—Livan Hernandez might be pitching his last game for the Arizona Diamondbacks, and they’ve never needed him more.
Hernandez will get the ball Sunday night with the Diamondbacks down 0-2 to Colorado in the NL championship series. The rolling Rockies are back at Coors Field but the Diamondbacks will have their most experienced postseason pitcher on the mound.
“It’s always an asset when you’ve got guys who have pitched big games or performed under any kind of perceived pressure,” Arizona’s Tony Clark said. “He’s been there, done that. There aren’t too many guys who I would feel more comfortable having on the hill in Game 3.”
The Diamondbacks got Hernandez in a trade with Washington in August 2006. The 32-year-old Cuban’s contract expires after this season, and there have been reports that the team is not interested in re-signing him.
“Right now I don’t know if I stay or go,” Hernandez said Saturday. “But right now I’m really happy with the organization. It’s a classy organization, and everybody treats people professionally. Let’s see what happens.”
Hernandez was 11-11 with a 4.93 ERA this season, but he was by far Arizona’s best starter against the Rockies, going 1-0 with a 1.54 ERA in five starts (35 innings).
Manager Bob Melvin said Hernandez is “the one guy that we have that really does have a track record in the postseason, a very good track record.”
In 1997, a much younger Hernandez, pitching for the Florida Marlins, was named MVP in both the NLCS and World Series. Including his victory over the Chicago Cubs in Game 3 of this year’s division series, Hernandez is 7-2 in the postseason, a combined 5-0 in the division series and the NLCS.
He annoys batters with a frustrating array of curveballs and changeups, with a few not-so-fast fastballs mixed in.
“You know his stuff is nowhere near overwhelming,” teammate Eric Byrnes said. “It’s not even close. Yet he goes out there and figures out a way to get it done. And that kind of exemplifies the kind of team we are.”
Hernandez said he’ll use any tricks he can, including playing head games with the hitters.
“I try and sometimes it happens, sometimes not,” he said. “You’ve got a ball and the hitter’s got a bat. You gotta try to make people out different ways.”
Clark said Hernandez simply “knows how to pitch.”
“Pitching is not about velocity,” Clark said. “Velocity allows you to make some mistakes, but being able to change speeds and location, location, location … would appear to be the most valuable asset to have, and he has it.”
Hernandez shrugged off the forecast of rain and temperatures in the mid-40s.
“It’s not a big deal for me. I’ve been in this situation before,” he said. “I remember in Cleveland in ’97, it snowed. It’s really cold and, you know, you go and pitch and make people out.”
If Sunday’s game is rained out, that would open the possibility of bringing Brandon Webb back to pitch Game 4 on Tuesday because the Arizona ace would have had his normal rest.
Before that could happen, the Diamondbacks are relying on the crafty Hernandez. It’s not like he’s relishing the chance, though.
“I don’t like it, but it’s a situation you gotta go through and do your job,” he said. “Now the team is two games down. You come in here and you try to win three games and come back home and try to win another one.
“You gotta come and try and play smart and try to win some games.”
