The Los Angeles Dodgers entered the weekend with a chance to gauge how they stack up against one of the best teams in baseball this year, the New York Yankees. Following their spending spree during the offseason, they were looked at, justifiably so, as the most terrorizing ballclub in baseball, and in the first two games of the series, the Dodgers gave everyone a glimpse of what they could do when everything is clicking.
On Friday, the Dodgers took an incredible 2-1 win in what was a masterful pitching duel. The following day, the Dodgers came out on top in dominant fashion after they took an 11-3 win over the Yankees. And during those two victories, many of the team's stars came to play. However, for minority owner Magic Johnson, it was right fielder Teoscar Hernandez who stole the show, proving himself to be well worth the addition this past offseason.
“What a weekend so for my Dodgers over the Yankees, and Teoscar Hernández has been a big part of that success!” Johnson wrote on his official Twitter (X) account. “His double in the 11th inning sealed the victory on Friday, and his 2 home runs (including a grand slam) and 6 RBIs were a huge factor for the win yesterday!”
The timing of the tweet from Magic Johnson was a bit delayed, as he tweeted nearly 24 hours after the Dodgers won the second game of the series against the Yankees, sealing the three-game set in their favor. Nonetheless, the Teoscar Hernandez shoutout was as well-deserved as it can get.
During the top of the 11th inning on Friday, Hernandez drove in two runs to give the Dodgers a 2-0 lead they would not relinquish. And then on Saturday, the 31-year old right fielder set the tone. He hit a solo shot in the second inning, drove in a run via fielder's choice during the sixth, and then uncorked a grand slam in the eighth to put the Yankees in the rearview mirror for good.
Teoscar Hernández breaks the scoreless tie with a 2-run double in the 11th inning! 😤
GRAND SLAM TEOSCAR HERNANDEZ! Teoscar Hernandez makes it an 8-2 lead for the @Dodgers!
The Dodgers would go on to lose the final game of the series against the Yankees, 6-4, in what fans called a bit of a jinx from the team's minority owner. But it's frightening for other teams to think about how deep the Dodgers lineup is when nearly every batter on the card is a threat to pop off at any given night.
Teoscar Hernandez, signing of the season for the Dodgers?
The Dodgers flexed their financial might this past offseason, signing Shohei Ohtani to a record-setting long-term deal while also outbidding the field for Yoshinobu Yamamoto's services. Thus, their addition of Teoscar Hernandez on a one-year, $23.5 million deal flew a bit under the radar.
Their move for Hernandez was a bit of a buy-low; while Hernandez provided some pop off the plate in 2023 (he hit 26 home runs and drove in 93 runs), it came at the cost of his overall game at the plate. He posted the worst walk rate of his career last season, and his strikeout rate moved past the 30 percent mark yet again. Hernandez's OPS last season was .740, which wasn't the worst, but was indicative of his struggles to get on base.
But the Dodgers seemingly have the solution when it comes to helping sluggers like Tesocar Hernandez get back on track. Hernandez's walk rate is back up to over eight percent, while he has also slashed his strikeout rate by 2.5 percentage points. With his improved plate discipline has come improved quality of contact; in addition to his impressive 16 home runs, which has him ranked seventh in the entire league, his OPS is also at .849, with his production being more in line with his All-Star 2021 campaign with the Toronto Blue Jays.
Just to hammer home how deep the Dodgers' lineup is, Hernandez is hitting fifth in the order, behind Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, and Will Smith. There simply is little, if any, reprieve for opposing pitchers when the Dodgers' lineup is clicking.
LA's pitchers came to play
The first game of the series against the Yankees was a pitching duel, with Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitching a gem for the Dodgers. After a bit of a rough patch to start his MLB career, Yamamoto has settled down and justified all the hype surrounding him this past offseason. In seven innings of work back on Friday, he allowed zero runs on two hits while striking out seven against just two walks. On the season, Yamamoto has a 3.00 ERA in 72 innings of work (13 starts), and his strikeout to walk ratio is at 81:23.
Meanwhile, Gavin Stone also had a solid outing on Saturday. He may have allowed 10 baserunners on the night (eight hits, two walks), but he only allowed two to cross the plate in a dominant Dodgers win.
Both Yamamoto and Stone also received some well-deserved praise from Magic Johnson.
“We also had two strong pitching performances from Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Gavin Stone! 👏🏾,” Johnson wrote.
