After giving up a nine-game lead in the National League West, the Los Angeles Dodgers swept the San Diego Padres to reclaim the top spot in the division.
But that high was short-lived, as the Colorado Rockies dealt the Dodgers a walk-off loss on Monday.
After the loss, manager Dave Roberts wasn’t shy in calling out outfielder Teoscar Hernández for his defensive struggles in the game and throughout the year.
“He’s got to get better out there,” Roberts said to reporters after the game. “There’s just no way to put it. I know there’s effort — it’s not a lack of effort. But the thing is, we’ve just got to get better. We do. I don’t know what else to say.”
Hernández made two defensive misplays in right field during the game that resulted in three of the Rockies’ four runs.
The first misplay happened in the bottom of the third inning and allowed Colorado to tie the game.
Hernández decided to let center fielder Brenton Doyle’s fly ball to right field bounce rather than dive for the ball. He then threw to third base instead of second, allowing a runner to move up 90 feet.
The decision allowed the Rockies to get two runners in scoring position on a play that could have resulted in an out for the Dodgers. Second baseman Ryan Ritter made Los Angeles pay for the mistake, hitting a game-tying, two-run single in the very next at-bat.
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A similar misplay by Hernández in the bottom of the ninth ultimately cost the Dodgers the game.
After Hernández failed to catch a shallow ball in right field from shortstop Ezequiel Tovar, the ball bounced away from Hernández and sent Tovar running for second.
The next at-bat was a walk-off hit from first baseman Warming Bernabel.
Despite Hernández’s defensive struggles, the Dodgers need his bat in the lineup. However, the obvious question remains where they will put him.
“He’s going to be in the lineup,” Roberts said of Hernández. “When you have a plus-game (a comfortable lead), I think I’m doing a good job of trying to get him off his legs and putting in some defensive specialists to go into run prevention mode.
“But he’s got to keep putting in the work to continue to get better. He’s up third in the top half (of the 10th if the game goes into extra innings), so I’m not going to take him out of the game (in the ninth),” Roberts said. “It’s just one of those things that, the defense is a big part of postseason baseball and winning baseball. So yeah, he’s just got to continue to get better.”
Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
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