LOS ANGELES — Teoscar Hernández gave the Dodgers their turning point Saturday night, and he did a little more after that just to make sure the lead held up. His three-run homer put the Dodgers ahead for good in a 6-3 win over the Rangers at Chavez Ravine. Later, he added a double and came around to score an insurance run. On a night when the lineup kept pushing from the first inning on, Hernández sounded like a hitter who felt the group’s plan playing out exactly the way it was supposed to.

The Big Swing

The big swing was the headline, but Hernández made it clear afterward that his at-bats have felt solid for a while now. “I think it’s just getting a good pitch to hit,” he said. “The timing has been there. The pitch selection has been there. I’ve just been missing a couple of pitches that I should have hit, but definitely it’s been great so far.”

That fit the game. The Dodgers did not wait around for the late innings this time. They put together their biggest rally early, grabbed control, and let the Rangers spend the rest of the night trying to catch up. Hernández said that kind of pressure is what this lineup wants to create from the start. “We always try to get a big inning every inning, score as many runs as we can,” he said. “We know we can score early, in the middle, or in any inning. It’s just going out there, trusting the plan that we have for the day, putting the ball in play, seeing what happens, staying with good at-bats, and just going from there.”

That thought led right into the larger point Hernández kept making about this offense. The Dodgers are not only looking for one big swing. They are trying to wear starters down, force them to work, and get into the bullpen as early as possible. Saturday’s game was a clean example of that approach. “That’s the main thing for us in the lineup,” Hernández said. “Just trying to get the starter out of the game quick, make him work, score some runs, obviously, and just get into the bullpen, especially when we still have one game to play.”

Team Approach

He said that emphasis has been there since spring training, and it has been part of the club’s thinking well before Opening Day. “It was something that we started practicing in spring training,” Hernández said. “Something that we started thinking about even before the season started. Just because of how good the lineup is, as much as we have guys getting on base, we can do more damage and do better things for the team.”

That is what the Dodgers got from him on Saturday. The home run changed the scoreboard, and the later double helped add another useful run. It was a productive night from one of the hitters the Dodgers count on most, but it also sounded like exactly the kind of game Hernández expects this lineup to keep producing. Good at-bats. Pressure on the starter. Traffic on the bases. Then somebody cashes it in.

Whose Ball Was It?

Hernández also had a quick answer about the fly ball in the outfield that brought him together with Andy Pages. He smiled and gave the priority to his teammate. “I think it’s his,” Hernández said. “I was playing a little closer to the line. It’s one of those I can get it, he can get it, but it’s definitely his ball.”

That probably sums up the way the Dodgers are playing right now. They look organized, confident, and clear about what they want to do. Hernández’s three-run shot was the loudest part of Saturday’s win, but his postgame comments pointed to something bigger. This lineup has a plan, and when it sticks to it, the runs tend to show up in a hurry.

More Dodgers Coverage:

Have you subscribed to the Bleed Los Podcast YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows & promotions, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!

Related