How Teoscar Hernández has become a clutch contact hitter for Dodgers

Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernández acknowledges the crowd after hitting a solo home run against the Diamondbacks on July 3.

Staff Writer

July 15, 2024 Updated 2:51 PM PT

ARLINGTON, Texas — The approach was dictated by the situation.

And, with a chance to tie a game Friday night, Teoscar Hernández knew exactly what he wanted to do with his swing.

In the Dodgers’ only win of the final week to the first half of their season, Hernández came to the plate Friday with runners on the corners and two outs in the eighth inning, needing a base hit to erase the club’s one-run deficit.

As he dug into the box, the two-time All-Star and nine-year veteran had a clear-headed game plan.

He wanted to get a sinker up, or at least around the knees, from Detroit Tigers right-hander Jason Foley.

“With Foley on the mound, his sinker is pretty good,” Hernández said. “[I was looking for] just something up in the strike zone.”

He wanted to send the ball the other way through the Tigers’ shifted infield, targeting the wide gap between first (where a Dodgers runner was being held on) and second base.

“The hole was open over there,” Hernández said, “because there was a guy on first.”

To make it all happen, Hernández simplified his approach, laying off three pitches around the outside corner as readied himself to shorten his swing.

“I wasn’t trying to do too much,” he said. “I knew with a base hit, I could tie the ballgame.”

In a 1-and-2 count, Foley finally threw the pitch Hernández was looking for, an inner-half sinker that didn’t sink quite enough. Hernández planted his front foot, flung his hands toward the ball, and then did exactly what he wanted — lining an RBI single the other way that helped lift the Dodgers to an eventual 4-3 win.

“If he had taken a big swing with two strikes, he would have probably punched [out],” manager Dave Roberts said afterward. “But knowing all we needed was a base hit, and that there was 100 feet on the right side of the diamond that was wide open, he knew all he’s got to do is hit the ball flat to the other side.”

“It’s huge,” Roberts added. “And he’s done that time and time again.”

On Monday night, Hernández’s task will be different.

In his first career appearance in the Home Run Derby, he’ll be swinging for the fences in an event he has long dreamed of participating in, earning a place in the eight-man field after swatting 19 home runs in the first half of the season.

To the Dodgers, however, the long balls Hernández has hit this year only tell part of the story about his importance to the team.

For a club that has struggled to capitalize with runners in scoring position (their .250 batting average and .740 OPS in such spots both rank in the bottom half of the majors), or get much production beyond their core four hitters (the bottom half of their lineup remains an area of concern), Hernández has been among the most clutch — and important — performers on the team.

He has 62 RBIs at the All-Star break, ranking seventh in the National League and trailing only Shohei Ohtani among Dodgers hitters.

His 28 hits with runners in scoring position are also second on the team, behind Freddie Freeman, and 12th overall in the National League — a byproduct of the ample situational opportunities that come from hitting behind Ohtani, Freeman, Mookie Betts and Will Smith in the batting order; but also of Hernández’s consistent composure in such high-leverage situations.

“I just try to not put extra pressure on [myself in those situations], or get anxious,” said Hernández, who is batting .259 with runners in scoring position this year with an impressive .871 OPS. “Just try to calm down, slow my body down and get a pitch that I can put in play.”

Sometimes, that process has resulted in highlight-reel home runs, like a tie-breaking blast at Yankee Stadium in early June, or the go-ahead three-run homer in Colorado a few weeks later that punctuated the Dodgers’ historic five-run ninth-inning comeback.

More often, though, the Dodgers have benefited from Hernández’s ability to simply “move the ball forward,” as Roberts likes to say, at critical moments in a game; when he recognizes an opportunity, refines his approach and shortens his swing like he did Friday night.

“Teo has hit a lot of homers for us,” Roberts said. “But to be able to shorten up, to get a base hit and understand the value of that … it’s huge.”

It’s a big reason why, as he prepared for the Derby during a practice round this week, Hernández was cautious to not start “overswinging” in search of extra power.

He knows the old theory about the potential risks of participating in the Derby, which can tempt hitters to swing too hard and lose their normal mechanics. So, as he did his dry run during batting practice on Saturday afternoon, he swung at pitches with a smooth, controlled tempo — and still sent 14 of his 39 hacks sailing out of the ballpark.

“I know if I can touch the ball with a good angle, it’s going to go,” Hernández said. “I’m going to try to be nice and easy and not overswing, so I can not mess up my swing.”

Hernández’s pitcher for the event, Dodgers third base coach Dino Ebel, thinks it could be a winning strategy.

“The ball comes off his bat really hot,” Ebel said. “I think he’s set up to do this, because he’s so strong with a compact swing.”

All the Dodgers really care about, though, is making sure Hernández’s clutch contact abilities continue through the stretch run of the season — when they’ll need not only his home runs, but also his key situational hitting, to bolster an offense trying to carry the club to a World Series.

“He’s been invaluable,” Roberts said. “It’s experience. It’s give-a-bleep. And it’s just, you gotta want to do it, and gotta believe that it’s the best thing to do.”

Hernández and Ohtani to start for NL

The morning of his Derby appearance, Hernández learned of another surprise honor during this week’s All-Star festivities.

Just like in his first All-Star appearance in 2021, the outfielder will be in the National League’s starting lineup for Tuesday’s Midsummer Classic, selected by NL manager Torey Lovullo to replace the injured Fernando Tatis Jr.

The announcement came with a couple twists.

Hernández said he heard the news the same time the public did, alerted by one of his brothers at breakfast Monday to a tweet showing him batting eighth.

The other surprise: Hernández will start in center field, a position he is familiar with from his minor-league days, but hasn’t played at all in the majors since 2021.

“It’s in there,” Hernández, who has split his time with the Dodgers between left and right field, joked of going back to center. “It’s just been a while.”

The Dodgers will also have Ohtani in the NL’s starting lineup, batting second after he was voted by fans to be the league’s designated hitter.