There’s no doubt the Los Angeles Dodgers like seeing someone with Hernandez stitched across the back of the jersey walking up to the plate in the postseason.
Two swings of the bat by two players named Hernandez provided all of Los Angeles’ runs in Game 1, and now the Dodgers will look to take a 2-0 lead in their best-of-five National League Division Series when they visit the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday evening.
Enrique Hernandez hit a two-run double on Saturday, and Teoscar Hernandez hit the go-ahead three-run homer for Los Angeles in a 5-3 victory.
Teoscar Hernandez made a misplay in the outfield earlier in the contest to fuel Philadelphia’s three-run second inning. He was happy to make amends with his blast off Phillies left-hander Matt Strahm in the seventh.
“At the end of the day, for me, anything that happened before a big moment like that, it’s in the past,” Teoscar Hernandez said. “I try to put it in the trash and just focus on the things that I need to do in that at-bat and especially in place on defense and just trying to help my team.”
Teoscar Hernandez is 5-for-14 with three homers and nine RBIs in three games this postseason. He has six homers and 21 RBIs in 19 postseason games with Los Angeles.
Enrique Hernandez, meanwhile, delivered his key double with two outs in the sixth inning to get the Dodgers on the board. He is 5-for-12 with three runs and three RBIs this postseason.
Enrique Hernandez has a reputation of upping his level of play when it counts most. He’s batted .285 with 15 homers and 38 RBIs in 89 career postseason contests.
“I think that’s applicable to every postseason,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Enrique Hernandez’s postseason exploits. “I mean, the numbers don’t lie. In the postseason, he just performs. … Once the postseason hits, he just ratchets it up a couple other levels.”
Los Angeles will send Blake Snell (5-4, 2.35 ERA) to the mound on Monday. The Phillies will counter with fellow left-hander Jesus Luzardo (15-7, 3.92).
Philadelphia knows it can’t afford a second straight home loss. But the Phillies aren’t going to panic.
“We’ve just got to dust it off. It’s a five-game series,” said catcher J.T. Realmuto, who delivered a two-run triple on a play in which Teoscar Hernandez didn’t scoot over swiftly enough to keep a single from rolling to the wall. “There’s still plenty of opportunity for us to go out and play good baseball.”
The top three batters in the Phillies’ order — Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper — were a combined 1-for-11 with six strikeouts in Game 1. Schwarber fanned in three of his four at-bats.
“It’s just one game,” Schwarber said. “This is the postseason. This is about the whole team. And now it’s about Monday, you’re back to grinding and feeling like you’re going to put together competitive at-bats for the team.”
Philadelphia outfielder Harrison Bader (groin) left Game 1 and underwent imaging on Sunday. Phillies manager Rob Thomson said there was “no major tear or strain” and that the club will learn Bader’s playing status on Monday.
Luzardo and Snell squared off in Los Angeles on Sept. 17, and the Dodgers won 5-0. Snell gave up two hits and struck out 12 in seven innings, while Luzardo gave up four runs and six hits in seven-plus innings. Freddie Freeman and Shohei Ohtani homered off Luzardo.
Luzardo, 28, is 0-2 with a 6.14 ERA in four career postseason appearances (three starts). This will be his first playoff outing with Philadelphia. He was 1-1 with a 2.57 ERA in two starts against Los Angeles during the regular season. Overall, he is 1-1 with a 3.12 ERA in six career appearances (five starts) against the Dodgers.
Snell, 32, is 5-3 with a 3.23 ERA in 13 postseason appearances (11 starts). He defeated the Cincinnati Reds in the wild-card round when he allowed two runs and four hits over seven innings in Los Angeles’ 10-5 victory.
Snell is 1-3 with a 3.41 ERA in seven career outings (all starts) against Philadelphia.
Roberts said the availability of Dodgers catcher Will Smith, who is recovering from a fractured right hand, will be determined Monday.
–Field Level Media
