Teoscar Hernández

Hernández signed a three-year, $66 million contract last offseason and hit .267/.334/.425 in 125 games with 16 home runs, 64 RBI, and a 27.5 percent strikeout rate. His defense has also declined over the last three seasons, which makes it difficult for the Dodgers to field a lineup with him and Shohei Ohtani, who is also in the lineup as a strict DH.

Hernández put Los Angeles ahead with a gargantuan 431-foot blast against Atlanta reliever Victor Mederos in the fourth inning. He finished 2-for-4 at the dish prior to being lifted for a defensive replacement. The 33-year-old continues to deliver down the stretch for the Dodgers after slumping for most of the season.

Hernández slugged a solo shot in the second inning to give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead, and to give the 33-year-old his 16th homer of the 2026 campaign. His 2026 campaign hasn’t been near the best of his career, but a .268/.336/.427 slash is nothing to sneeze at.

Hernández had a two-run homer off Rhett Lowder and a walk tonight. Peaking at the right time, he’s hitting .417 with four homers, 18 RBI and nine walks in his last 14 games, taking his OPS from .692 to .766.

Dodgers’ skipper Dave Roberts noted that it’s just a routine day of rest, as the team didn’t want the 33-year-old outfielder to play in three straight games on the turf in Miami. Josue De Paula will start in his place in left field and bat sixth for the Dodgers on Sunday afternoon.

The homer off Brandon Williamson left his bat at 112.6 mph, his hardest-hit ball since 2024. His previous high this year was 112.2 mph. Finally coming alive at a great time for the Dodgers, Hernández is 13-for-29 with two homers, 11 RBI and two steals in his last eight games.

Hernández also walked twice tonight before delivering a game-ending hit to score Tommy Edman and Mookie Betts in the bottom of the ninth. The knock off Riley O’Brien kept the Dodgers from being swept in the three-game series. It’s the first time since July 3 that he’s driven in multiple baserunners (thus not including himself) in a game.

Hernández’s homer off Framber Valdez broke a 1-1 tie in the sixth. It was his first since Aug. 3. He went 14-for-73 (.192) with three RBI and a 28/4 K/BB in his 22 games in between homers.

He did hit a fly 396 feet to left-center in the ninth, but that wasn’t enough to get out of Comerica. It’s a long shot that they’ll make the move, but the Dodgers have to be at least a little tempted to see if Josue DePaula might be an upgrade in left. Hernández is hitting just .245/.307/.385, and while that’s not a disaster, it makes him a liability while paired with subpar defense.

Hernández has been pinch-hit for multiple times in the past two games and The Athletic’s Katie Woo believes he may sit against right-handed starters for Tommy Edman. Hernández has hit .209/.258/.357 since returning from the injured list in late June.

Hernández didn’t get any help tonight, but at least he seems to be coming around. He has two homers in three days and is 12-for-33 with five extra-base hits in his last nine games.

Hernández’s 412-foot homer off Alex Hoppe in the sixth was his first in four weeks and ninth overall. He’s currently sitting at .192/.263/.329 for the month of July, but he has one day left to improve on that.

The Dodgers have Alex Call starting in left field tonight. Hernández had started eight straight games, but he was just 3-for-29 with one RBI during the stretch. He’s hitting .241/.312/.380 in 67 games overall.

It’s Hernández’s fourth straight hitless game. He was swinging the bat really well in the couple of weeks leading up his hamstring injury at the end of May, but since returning, he’s 4-for-41 with one homer and no other extra-base hits. Given the quality of his defense, he needs to do considerably better than his current .243/.319/.387 line to justify regular playing time on a team as strong as the Dodgers are.

Michael King allowed Mookie Betts and Max Muncy to reach to start the seventh in a 3-0 game, resulting in Morejon’s entrance. Jake Cronenworth then botched a potential double play, loading the bases with no outs, and Hernández hit the next pitch 419 feet. Hernández has started four out of five games since coming off the IL and gone 3-for-16 with a couple of walks. The slam tonight was his first since 2024 and sixth of his career.

Tommy Edman gets the nod in left field in his place. Hernández has gone 2-for-8 with an RBI in a pair of games since returning from the injured list earlier this week. The 33-year-old veteran slugger will likely need to produce in the next few months to keep his spot with Los Angeles moving forward since they have a couple talented outfield prospects nearing the majors including phenom Josue De Paula and on-base machine Mike Sirota. They also have James Tibbs III tearing the cover off the ball at Triple-A.

Hernández returns to Los Angeles’ lineup following a nearly five-week absence recovering from a hamstring strain. He’s back in left field and hitting fifth against the Athletics on Monday night at Dodger Stadium. The 33-year-old veteran slugger homered in three of his four minor league rehab contests for Triple-A Oklahoma City. He’s cobbled together a pedestrian year at the dish by his typical standards, slashing .276/.348/.436 with seven homers, 31 RBI and two steals in 204 plate appearances through 51 games. However, his return adds some much-needed over-the-fence pop for the Dodgers as they approach the All-Star break.

The plan appears to be for him to get regular days off initially. There was some thought of Hernández returning this weekend, but the Dodgers will hold off until the series in Sacramento. Ryan Ward figures to lose his spot when Hernández is activated, and Tommy Edman will begin playing more second base at Alex Freeland’s expense.

The probability feels extremely high that Hernández will be activated from the injured list at some point this weekend or early next week. The 33-year-old veteran slugger went deep for the third consecutive rehab contest on Friday evening while playing six innings in left field. The original expectation was that he would be ready for Monday’s series opener against the Athletics, but he could potentially make it back for the final two games of their current series against the division-rival Padres.

It was Hernández’s first rehab game since going on the injured list on May 29th. He’ll likely take the rest of the week to get his at-bats in and then should return to the Dodgers lineup. That will push Ryan Ward back to the bench or the minors.