Puig tearfully recalls his friend Fernandez

LOS ANGELES — A distraught Yasiel Puig wiped away tears as he spoke about Miami Marlins pitcher and fellow Cuban Jose Fernandez, who was killed on Sunday in a boating accident.

“He was a very, very close friend of mine,” Puig said in the Dodgers clubhouse before their potential division-clinching game against Colorado.

“He was one of the first people I [knew] here, and I was thinking just a couple of weeks ago we were having dinner in Miami: He was a very good guy and I also liked the way he played baseball, the way he treated his mom, his grandma, his teammates and other ballplayers like myself.”

Puig said he enjoyed facing Fernandez. When Fernandez threw seven scoreless innings against the Dodgers in Miami earlier this month, Puig was sent up to pinch-hit. When he got in the box, Puig smiled and blew Fernandez a kiss. Fernandez, after some friendly trash talking, blew fastballs past Puig for his 14th and final strikeout of the game.

“I think after [Clayton] Kershaw, he was the best pitcher in the big leagues,” Puig said. “I liked to face him, we joked around a lot, had a lot of fun. Sometimes he would throw balls, I would tell him to throw strikes. The next time we play Miami, it won’t be the same.

“That was the best part about playing in Miami, facing him — especially when people came to see him and me play there. We were players and it’s definitely one thing I was …

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