Teoscar Hernandez is heating up as the Los Angeles Dodgers prepare for a championship defense. The two-time All-Star has a career-low .723 OPS with just 12 home runs, making him likely to fall short of 25 for the first time in a 162-game season since 2018. Yet Hernandez has turned the corner with 10 hits in his last six games, including a walk-off double in Thursday's 3-2 win over the St.
Hernandez acknowledged his struggles after the game, conceding that he told Dave Roberts he'd understand if the manager benched him. "I'm a player that, if I’m not doing what I’m supposed to do and somebody else is doing the job and helping the team win, I told Dave, 'If you feel like you have to put someone else in there, just do it," Hernandez said, via Dodgers Nation. "Know that I’m going to keep working.
I’m going to try to be ready for the times you need me." Roberts stuck with the 33-year-old outfielder, who's rewarded the skipper's trust with multiple hits in five of his last eight games. The three-time Silver Slugger went 6-for-13 with two walks, two doubles, and a stolen base during a three-game series against St. Hernandez has a .681 OPS against right-handed pitchers this season, but Roberts saw significant progress from his veteran to start September.
"Against right-handed pitching this series, I thought his at-bats were much better," Roberts said. "Taking walks, swinging at the right pitches, hitting the ball hard. This is as good as I've seen him versus (righties) since April." Hernandez, who missed a month with a hamstring injury earlier this season, seems to have avoided getting relegated to the short end of a platoon after his recent surge.
"It has taken a while for him to recalibrate or get that swing to where it was before he went on the IL, but this looks sustainable," Roberts said. "Just a guy you can count on to take a good at-bat versus right, versus left. Obviously, the threat of a homer, the threat of hard contact, his presence is good for all of us."
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