{"id":674229,"date":"2026-04-12T16:45:25","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T16:45:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/674229\/"},"modified":"2026-04-12T16:45:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T16:45:25","slug":"teoscar-hernandez-on-the-lineup-delivering-quality-at-bats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/674229\/","title":{"rendered":"Teoscar Hernandez on the Lineup Delivering “Quality At-Bats”"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

LOS ANGELES \u2014 Teoscar Hern\u00e1ndez<\/a> 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, Hern\u00e1ndez sounded like a hitter who felt the group\u2019s plan playing out exactly the way it was supposed to.<\/p>\n

The Big Swing<\/p>\n

The big swing was the headline, but Hern\u00e1ndez made it clear afterward that his at-bats have felt solid for a while now. \u201cI think it\u2019s just getting a good pitch to hit,\u201d he said. \u201cThe timing has been there. The pitch selection has been there. I\u2019ve just been missing a couple of pitches that I should have hit, but definitely it\u2019s been great so far.\u201d<\/p>\n

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. Hern\u00e1ndez said that kind of pressure is what this lineup wants to create from the start. \u201cWe always try to get a big inning every inning, score as many runs as we can,\u201d he said. \u201cWe know we can score early, in the middle, or in any inning. It\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

That thought led right into the larger point Hern\u00e1ndez 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\u2019s game was a clean example of that approach. \u201cThat\u2019s the main thing for us in the lineup,\u201d Hern\u00e1ndez said. \u201cJust 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Team Approach<\/p>\n

He said that emphasis has been there since spring training, and it has been part of the club\u2019s thinking well before Opening Day. \u201cIt was something that we started practicing in spring training,\u201d Hern\u00e1ndez said. \u201cSomething 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

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 Hern\u00e1ndez expects this lineup to keep producing. Good at-bats. Pressure on the starter. Traffic on the bases. Then somebody cashes it in.<\/p>\n

Whose Ball Was It?<\/p>\n

Hern\u00e1ndez also had a quick answer about the fly ball in the outfield that brought him together with Andy Pages<\/a>. He smiled and gave the priority to his teammate. \u201cI think it\u2019s his,\u201d Hern\u00e1ndez said. \u201cI was playing a little closer to the line. It\u2019s one of those I can get it, he can get it, but it\u2019s definitely his ball.\u201d<\/p>\n

That probably sums up the way the Dodgers are playing right now. They look organized, confident, and clear about what they want to do. Hern\u00e1ndez\u2019s three-run shot was the loudest part of Saturday\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

More Dodgers Coverage:<\/p>\n

Have you subscribed to the Bleed Los Podcast YouTube channel<\/a>? 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!<\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LOS ANGELES \u2014 Teoscar Hern\u00e1ndez gave the Dodgers their turning point Saturday night, and he did a little…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":674230,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2406],"tags":[5,39,1165,4332,4333,774,57,3224,4331,4],"class_list":{"0":"post-674229","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles-dodgers","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-dodgers","10":"tag-la","11":"tag-la-dodgers","12":"tag-ladodgers","13":"tag-los-angeles","14":"tag-los-angeles-dodgers","15":"tag-losangeles","16":"tag-losangelesdodgers","17":"tag-mlb"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116392750218311381","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/674229","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=674229"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/674229\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/674230"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=674229"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=674229"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=674229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}