Dodgers' Teoscar Hernandez follows Max Muncy's lead with 2nd homer vs. Cardinals

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There has been much talk about if the Los Angeles Dodgers did enough at the MLB trade deadline to combat the flurry of moves the San Diego Padres made, as the National League West race intensifies. They seemingly have enough talent, though. The defending World Series champions are counting on their big offseason acquisitions to either get healthy or get hot during the second half of the campaign. Teoscar Hernandez and Max Muncy both fall under that category.
Those two veteran sluggers destroyed the baseball on Tuesday night, powering the Dodgers to a 12-6 victory over the visiting St. Louis Cardinals. Muncy hit his second solo home run of the night in the third inning to give his team a 4-2 lead, and Hernandez went yard immediately afterwards. The two-time All-Star then matched his teammate by posting his own two-dinger outing. He crushed a three-run 429-foot homer in the seventh, which effectively put a once-competitive ballgame out of reach.
Hernandez, in addition to the two bombs, finished with three hits and four RBIs. The 32-year-old outfielder has been sleepwalking through much of the last two months and had just six home runs since May 21 entering this showdown with St. Louis, so this explosion was a welcome sight for Dodgers fans. Perhaps he is due for a late-summer surge, one that the team earnestly hopes could carry over into October.
If Hernandez is on, the Dodgers can regain their dominant form
Although there are three future Hall of Famers who share most of the spotlight in this deep lineup, Teoscar Hernandez played a vital role in LA's World Series-winning 2024 campaign. The Dodgers and the Dominican Republic native showed how much they mean to each other over the offseason, agreeing to a three-year, $66 million contract. The organization is confident that Hernandez will flourish when the time comes.
Los Angeles (66-48) usually has the luxury of waiting until the postseason before entering do-or-die mode, but with San Diego pulling within three games of the divisional lead, the champs have to proceed with a greater sense of urgency during August. They clearly got the message on Tuesday.
Following an extended offensive drought, the Dodgers erupted in front of the home crowd. They scored more than twice as many runs than they did in the previous three games combined, and the club's 17 hits matched its total during that same span. Muncy achieved a special milestone in his second game back after a month-long stint on the injured list (knee) and the ice-cold Mookie Betts — hitless in 15 July at-bats coming into the night — gained some momentum after recording three hits and three runs scored.
But one cannot overlook Hernandez's heroics. He is an X-factor in this franchise's pursuit of a second straight title. The three-time Silver Slugger is now batting .256 with 18 homers, 68 RBIs and a .766 OPS.
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