Dodgers fans baffled after Teoscar Hernández’s poor effort just handed Phillies runs

Teoscar Hernández has taken a ton of deserved flack for his defense this season. He can't make routine plays and his arm is lacking, but the Dodgers insist on putting him in right field. Dave Roberts has gone as far as to call him out in front of the media.

He might not have invited so much criticism this season if his bat had performed to expectations this season (after he put up a -9 OAA at the outfield corners last year, but he was heralded as a Dodgers hero because of his offensive season), but it hasn't.

He quieted the noise a little with a huge performance in the Wild Card series against the Reds, when he hit two homers and picked up a two-run double, even though his defense handed Cincinnati a run in Game 2, when he couldn't catch a pop-up in foul territory.

Fast forward to Game 1 of the NLDS against the Phillies, and Hernández almost immediately opened himself up to criticism when he showed absolutely zero effort in chasing down a JT Realmuto line drive. It allowed Realmuto to get to third, the Phillies' first two runs to score, and then Realmuto to score on a Harrison Bader fly ball.

Teoscar Hernández showing zero hustle in NLDS Game 1 quickly gave Phillies 3-0 lead over Dodgers

It took no time at all for Dodgers fans to start jumping down Hernández's throat, but it was entirely deserved. The ball crossed in front of him by maybe a foot, if that, and he didn't speed up to try to grab it, or put his glove down to even attempt a scoop. Instead, he let it roll to the wall for center fielder Andy Pages to pick off of a carom at the wall.

Brandon Marsh, who was on first but scored on the Realmuto triple, has decent speed but could've been stopped at third if Hernández had put himself in front of the ball. What certainly rubbed Dodgers fans the wrong way was the apparent laziness of the non-attempt; this isn't an August game against the Rockies, it's a postseason game.

Meanwhile, he also wasn't contributing offensively to try to make up for the lack of hustle. He struck out in his first at-bat, then struck out again after the Phillies' three-run inning. It'll take a game-tying, -winning, or go-ahead RBI for fans to forgive him, but even then, there's a lot to worry about with him in right field.