PHILADELPHIA, PA — In a lineup stacked up with superstars and future Hall of Famers, it was Tesocar Hernández who carried the Dodgers to a Game 1 victory in the National League Division Series at Citizens Bank Park Saturday night—hitting a seventh inning go-ahead three-run home run off Philadelphia’s Matt Strahm—to give Los Angeles a 5-3 lead, the eventual final score, and a commanding 1-0 lead in the best of five series.
“Not trying to do overswinging or anything like that,” he said of his approach for the seventh inning at-bat. “Maybe a hit. Try to bring in one run to tie the game. But he (Strahm) left it over the strike zone.”
“It was a great moment,” added Hernández’s teammate and LA’s starting pitcher for Game 1 of the NLDS, Shohei Ohtani, fanning nine Phillies across six innings of three run-ball.
“It’s definitely a highlight for us and for the team.”
Teoscar Hernández silenced the Philly crowd at The Bank Saturday night with one swing of the bat – Image Credit: George Napolitano/Latino Sports
The two Dodgers responsible for LA’s five runs scored in Game 1 of the NLDS: Kike Hernández (2 RBI) and Teoscar Hernández (3 RBI) – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
For Hernández, 32, of Cotui, Dominican Republic, the three-run opposite field bomb in the clutch, landing in the right-center field seats of The Bank at a distance of 394 feet with an exit velocity of 102.9-MPH off the bat, marked his third home run of this postseason, and eighth in his postseason career as six has come in Dodger Blue.
His six postseason home runs as a Dodger is tied for the seventh-most in franchise history, though, several of those ahead of Hernández have played in a minimum of at least 30 postseason games with 114 at bats while the Dominican Republic native has only appeared in 19, compiling 74 at bats.
Teoscar Hernández leads all of MLB this postseason with nine RBI – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
Adding to his clutch gene even more by silencing Philadelphia’s crowd, the two-time All-Star is the first player in Major League Baseball history to record three home runs and nine RBI over his respective team’s first three playoff games in a given postseason.
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