In just his second game back with the Los Angeles Dodgers after recovering from elbow surgery, Kiké Hernández was removed after hitting a double in a blowout win against the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday night. 

Hernández was seen wincing in pain rounding first base and was noticeably upset in between innings, speaking to manager Dave Roberts. 

The Dodgers announced that he was removed due to straining his left oblique. Hyeseong Kim replaced him in the fifth inning. 

In the postgame, Hernández revealed that he had aggravated his oblique yesterday during batting practice. He initially thought that he could play through the pain, but noted that he was in pain hitting his first home run of the season. 

"I did it during batting practice, and I was pretty embarrassed that I did that. I didn't really tell anybody about it. I just thought it was a small tweak," a defeated Hernández said to the media. 

Hernández was not certain about what the future holds in terms of recovery, as this marks the first time that he's dealt with an oblique injury. 

“Frustrating to say the least. Not just because I missed time, but me coming back got somebody off the roster." 

"I am hoping that it's best case scenario," Hernández said. 

"Maybe, hopefully, it's just a Grade 1 and atleast two-three weeks, but who know's." 

Roberts was mournful of Hernández, but said that this is not a season-ending injury. 

"It's not a season-ending thing, so that's something to be hopeful with, but yeah, it's just a bummer," Roberts said. 

Now, with the inevitable scenario of Hernández moving back to the Injured List, what happens now?

According to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic and confirmed by Roberts himself, the Dodgers will recall Alex Freeland, who was demoted when Mookie Betts made his return with an oblique injury of his own.

But Freeland was already en route to join the Dodgers in Los Angeles, as he was not in the lineup for Triple-A Oklahoma City Comets. He was set to join the team, as the Dodgers were analyzing the slumping Hyeseong Kim. 

Kim has produced a slashline of .158/.227/.158 (3-19) in his last seven games with seven strikeouts. 

For now, Kim has some breathing room and will tag team with Freeland defensively.  

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