When Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton turned to Jose Hernandez for his first high-leverage situation, the rookie left-handed reliever was more excited than nervous.

Not only were the Pirates clinging to a two-run lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers with the heart of the order coming to bat Tuesday night at PNC Park, but the circumstances were even more extraordinary.

The Pirates selected Hernandez from the Dodgers in the Rule 5 Draft, so he wanted to show his former team what they were missing.

It was easy as 1-2-3, as Hernandez retired the side in order by getting All-Star first baseman Freddie Freeman to ground out to second before striking out pinch hitter Trayce Thompson and James Outman.

Hernandez got both strikeouts on full counts, throwing a changeup to get the right-handed Thompson and a 96-mph fastball past Outman. Shelton called Hernandez “definitely the bright spot” in an 8-7 loss, noting that he stayed with his plan and executed all of his pitches, throwing his four-seam fastball, slider and changeup.

“I thought he was outstanding,” Shelton said of Hernandez, whose last outing was in a 14-3 win over Colorado on April 17. “He hadn’t pitched in, what, six days? He went right at Freeman, right at Outman. That was impressive. Yeah, it’s his old team and the heart of a really good lineup and it did not seem to faze him.”

Hernandez, a 25-year-old Dominican, hadn’t pitched in the major leagues before the Pirates chose him with the third pick of the Rule 5 Draft on Dec. 7, taking a chance on a pitcher who hadn’t played above Double-A.

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“Super grateful for the opportunity,” Hernandez said through translator Stephen Morales, a Pirates coach. “Last year I was in Double-A at this time. This year, I’m here and I’m happy to show people and show the world and every team out there that I was ready to be up here and compete.”

The Pirates were seeking to add more swing-and-miss to their bullpen, and Hernandez showed the stuff they liked with fastball command. He started last season as the closer at High-A Great Lakes, recording a 2.14 ERA with eight saves. Over his final 13 games, Hernadez had a .156 batting average against and 0.98 WHIP.

Hernandez was promoted to Double-A Tusla on May 28, where he had 47 strikeouts against 18 walks but allowed seven home runs in 38 2/3 innings over 36 appearances. Over his final 15 outings, however, Hernandez recorded a 2.93 ERA, 26 strikeouts, a .135 batting average against and a 1.04 WHIP.

With lefties Jarlin Garcia on the 60-day injured list and Rob Zastryzny on the 15-day IL, Hernandez is the only lefty in the Pirates’ bullpen. So he was ready when the Dodgers had a trio of lefties come up in the order.

“Always ready, now that I’m the only lefty out there,” Hernadez said. “I have to be mentally or physically ready just in case I get the call to face those lefties or any other situation.”

Hernandez has impressed Shelton by throwing “a ton of strikes,” as he did on 10 of his 17 pitches against the Dodgers.

“I think that’s really helpful. When you have Rule 5 guys, sometimes you take them because of their stuff. We took him because of his stuff but he’s thrown strikes his entire career,” Shelton said. “For him to come in in a big moment like that, in that game, against his former team where he could have a little bit of jitters, he was very calm and executed very good.”

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