PHILADELPHIA — The box score shows the big blow in the seventh. It doesn’t show the three strikeouts and the misread in right that helped spot Philadelphia a lead. Teoscar Hernández owned all of it after the Dodgers’ 5–3 win. He did not dress it up. He explained what he saw, what he felt, and why he kept hunting one pitch.
“I watched the video,” Hernández said. “He (reliever Matt Strahm) likes to work up in the strike zone. That’s where he’s strongest. My first three at-bats I chased down. I wasn’t trying to over-swing. I just wanted something up that I could drive, maybe get one run in. He left it over the zone.”
The swing erased the night that came before it. “The home run was a special moment, especially because it put the team ahead,” he said in Spanish. “I knew I hit it really well. I thought it was at least a double. Thanks to God it left the park and we took the lead.”
He gave plenty of credit to the pitcher who had shoved for six innings. “Sánchez was nasty,” Hernández said. “You have to give credit where it’s due. He put the pitches where he wanted. He didn’t miss much in the strike zone. In that last at-bat I just tried to get a good pitch, square it, and help the team.”
The question about J.T. Realmuto’s drive into the right-center gap came quickly. Hernández did not duck it. “I was playing straight in,” he said. “I didn’t get a good angle. He hit it pretty well. I tried to cut it off so they wouldn’t score two runs in that situation.” He paused, then moved the story forward. “At the end of the day, whatever happened before a big moment is in the past. I put it in the trash and focus on what I have to do in the next at-bat and on defense to help my team.”
Hernández knows what October asks of a hitter. There are long nights and one swing that changes everything. “Starting the series with a win is very important,” he said. “These are short series. I don’t think the team that wins the first game automatically has an advantage, but it gives you relief going into the second.” He smiled when asked about sharing the spotlight with Kiké Hernández again. “What can we say about Kiké? He’s been doing that for years. It’s not a surprise to anyone that he can do that, especially in the playoffs.”
Back to the seventh, where approach met opportunity. “I was looking for something up,” he said. “All game I had chased down. I tried to stay short, not do too much. He left it up, and I got it.” He did not claim he expected a no-doubt shot. “Off the bat I thought double or home run,” Hernández said in Spanish. “It carried. We took the lead.”
Even after the go-ahead swing, the self-talk stayed simple. “I try to stay present,” he said. “If I make a mistake in the field, I own it and move on. The next ball is coming. The next at-bat is coming. My job is to help the team.”
He repeated the core of his plan one more time, a reminder that big swings usually start with small choices. “Don’t chase down,” he said. “Get something up. Put a good swing on it. Help the team.”
On a night when Shohei Ohtani gave the Dodgers six steady innings after one bad frame, the offense needed a jolt. Hernández delivered it with one clean pass through the zone. “I knew I hit it superb,” he said in Spanish. “We needed that. We got it.”
And then he left it there. The error was acknowledged. The strikeouts were, too. The last word was about the result and the responsibility. “It felt good to put us ahead,” Hernández said. “Whatever happened before, it’s gone. Do the job. Win the game.”
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