Teoscar Hernández broke a tight National League Division Series opener with one swing Saturday, turning a scoreless game into a Dodgers lead when he drilled a two-run homer into the left-center-field seats in the fourth inning.
Key takeaways
- Hernández’s fourth-inning blast gave Los Angeles a 2-0 advantage against Atlanta.
- The homer was the 11th postseason long ball of Hernández’s career and his ninth as a Dodger.
- Atlanta began the series opener with a bullpen game, and Victor Mederos surrendered the decisive hit.
- Hernández has gone deep in seven of his eight playoff series since joining the Dodgers.
- Game 2 of the NLDS is scheduled for Sunday at 8 p.m. ET, airing on FS1, FOX Deportes and FOX One.
A cutter over the plate changes the afternoon
The Braves’ bullpen alignment held Los Angeles off the board for three and a half innings. Mederos entered in the fourth, retired Will Smith, then issued a walk to Freddie Freeman. Hernández followed and attacked a 92.4 mph cutter, sending it out to left-center for the game’s first runs.
At the top of the Dodgers dugout, the club’s “Mr. Seeds” was waiting with his customary bucket of sunflower seeds, greeting Hernández after another October swing that changed the look of a game.
The shot added to a playoff resume that has become increasingly familiar in Los Angeles. Hernández was a major contributor during the Dodgers’ 2025 title run, when he hit five homers and drove in 13 runs. His latest one continued a record of delivering power in nearly every postseason series he has played with the club.
October power has followed Hernández
Before Saturday, Hernández had appeared in 37 postseason games and carried a .248 playoff batting average, with 36 hits, 10 home runs and 29 RBIs. The fourth-inning drive raised his career homer total to 11.
His power rate also put him in rare active-company entering the game. Hernández had averaged one postseason homer every 13.4 at-bats, fifth among active players. Only Giancarlo Stanton at 9.8 at-bats per homer, Kyle Schwarber at 10.6, Shohei Ohtani at 11.7 and Bryce Harper at 12.3 stood ahead of him.
For the Dodgers, the larger point was simpler than any October leaderboard: Freeman reached, Hernández made Atlanta pay, and a scoreless afternoon finally had a crack in it.
