There was a one-handed finish. A slow stroll out of the batter\u2019s box. And a leisurely, long-awaited trip around the bases.<\/p>\n
It\u2019d been a while since Teoscar Hern\u00e1ndez<\/a> last admired such a momentous home run ball.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n It was a sight the struggling Dodgers<\/a> had come to sorely miss.<\/p>\n Ever since returning from an adductor strain last month, Hern\u00e1ndez had endured one of his coldest stretches at the plate since joining the Dodgers last year. He was batting .171 over 20 games since his mid-May return to the lineup. He had just three hits in 38 at-bats over his last 10 contests.<\/p>\n Read more: ‘Very awkward.’ Dodgers wave the white flag historically early in rout to Padres<\/a><\/p>\n That slump, which also included only one home run since April 28, finally\u00a0reached a tipping point ahead of Wednesday\u2019s series finale against the San Diego Padres, with manager Dave Roberts<\/a> moving Hern\u00e1ndez out of his customary cleanup spot in the batting order in favor of hot-hitting catcher Will Smith.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n \u201cI love him in the four [spot] when he\u2019s right,\u201d Roberts said pregame. \u201cBut clearly the last few weeks, he\u2019s been scuffling.\u201d<\/p>\n With one swing in the top of the sixth, however, Hern\u00e1ndez finally started to look right again.<\/p>\n In what was a tie game at Petco Park, on a day first place in the National League West was up for grabs, Hern\u00e1ndez delivered the decisive blow in the Dodgers\u2019 5-2 win over the Padres<\/a>, belting a three-run home run to straightaway center that sent the club a pivotal series victory.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a big hit,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cThe last few weeks, he\u2019s \u2026 felt like he hasn\u2019t contributed. But he has a knack for getting big hits. And that\u2019s as big as they get, so far at this point in the season.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Hern\u00e1ndez\u2019s sixth-inning at-bat was everything his recent trips to the plate hadn\u2019t been during his weeks-long slump.<\/p>\n Read more: Dodgers-Padres lives up to the rivalry hype as L.A. prevails in 10th inning<\/a><\/p>\n He finally got ahead in a 2-and-0 count \u2014 something Roberts had noted was a rarity for the 32-year-old slugger of late, in large part because of his inability to punish mistakes in his hitting zone.<\/p>\n \u201cBalls that he should move forward, he\u2019s not,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cAnd with that, there\u2019s more chase, because he\u2019s getting behind.\u201d<\/p>\n And when Padres reliever Jeremiah Estrada did serve up a mistake over the plate, Hern\u00e1ndez didn\u2019t miss it, clobbering a 2-and-1 fastball down the middle for a 420-foot drive that broke open the game.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n \u201c[It felt]\u00a0really good, especially because I put the team in front,\u201d said Hern\u00e1ndez, whose home run was his 11th of the year and extended his team lead in RBIs with 47. \u201cI\u2019ve been working really hard, every at-bat, trying to get good pitches to hit \u2026 trying to get back the feeling that I had before I got injured.\u201d<\/p>\n The Dodgers (41-28) got other heroics in Wednesday\u2019s rubber-match triumph, one that gives them a two-game lead in the division over the Padres (38-29).<\/p>\n Ben Casparius<\/a> gave up just one run in a four-inning start, replacing originally listed starter Justin Wrobleski in what could be a permanent move to the starting rotation for the rookie right-hander (or, at least, until the rest of the Dodgers\u2019 banged-up pitching staff gets healthy in the coming months).<\/p>\n \u201cHe obviously came up as a starter \u2026 [and] where we are at now currently, he\u2019s certainly showing that he\u2019s one of five,\u201d Roberts said of Casparius, who had a 2.93 ERA as a swingman out of the bullpen to start the year. \u201cThe next time he\u2019s on the mound, it will be as a starter.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Andy Pages saved Casparius from another run along the way, throwing out a runner at home plate in the second inning with a 99 mph strike from center field. It was Pages\u2019 fifth outfield assist of the season, tied for fifth-most in the majors.<\/p>\n \u201cHe’s been doing it all year,\u201d Casparius said. \u201cI haven’t seen anybody play in the outfield at a level he has this year. It’s honestly, at this point, something that I think we all expect. And he picked me up big time right there.”<\/p>\n Michael Conforto<\/a>, meanwhile, got the game tied at 1-1 with an opposite-field homer in the fifth, marking just his second long ball since April 5.<\/p>\n Read more: ‘Big brother, little brother.’ How Teoscar Hern\u00e1ndez, Andy Pages bond is helping Dodgers<\/a><\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n And even at the start of the sixth inning, the Dodgers did some little things right to set up Hern\u00e1ndez\u2019s go-ahead blast. With one out, Freddie Freeman legged out an infield single, despite playing through not only his gimpy right ankle but also \u201ca little quad thing\u201d Roberts said he has been dealing with in recent days. Then, Smith reached base for the first of three times on the day by drawing a key one-out walk.<\/p>\n The Padres didn\u2019t go away down the stretch. A Hyeseong Kim throwing error led to one run in the sixth, trimming the Dodgers\u2019 lead back down to two runs. Then in the seventh, the command problems that plagued recently activated reliever Michael Kopech during his minor-league rehab stint last month reared their ugly head, with the right-hander issuing three-straight one-out walks in the seventh to load the bases.<\/p>\n Recently surging left-hander Anthony Banda, however, escaped that jam with the help of an impressive play by Mookie Betts at shortstop, who got to Manny Machado\u2019s 3-and-0 grounder in the hole and made an on-time, one-hop throw to Freeman at short.<\/p>\n \u201cSecuring it, being able to throw from different arm angles, that\u2019s something he just didn\u2019t do well last year, given the lack of reps,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cBut that\u2019s a play that, in a big spot, time of game, the stakes right there, to make that play was huge.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Tanner Scott and Alex Vesia then took care of the eighth and ninth innings, ensuring the Dodgers left San Diego in first place in the division.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s fun playing these guys,\u201d Roberts said of the Padres, who will make a return visit to Dodger Stadium next week for a four-game series. \u201cThey know they\u2019re talented. We know we\u2019re talented. It\u2019s a fun series. It\u2019s a big series. It\u2019s not the end-all, be-all in June. But it was fun.\u201d<\/p>\n