Teoscar Hernández saved Dodgers from himself with one swing in NLDS Game 1 win

Teoscar Hernández had fans calling for his head in the second inning of the Dodgers' NLDS opener against the Phillies, when he showed zero hustle on a JT Realmuto extra-base hit to right-center field. Realmuto got all the way to third and two runs scored, when a better defensive outfielder might've been able to save LA one of those runs. It added insult to injury when Realmuto came home on a Harrison Bader sac fly.

It would've taken a huge offensive moment and a win for the Dodgers for Hernández to make up for that in the eyes of Dodgers fans. If they lost, his lagging would've become the story of the game.

He went 0-3 with three strikeouts to start his evening off at the plate, so he wasn't off to a great start. However, Phillies starter Cristopher Sánchez, who had been mowing down the Dodgers until the end of his outing, was out of the game by the top of the seventh, and the Dodgers had cut the deficit to one on a Kiké Hernández RBI double.

David Robertson gave up a single to Andy Pages and hit Will Smith to put two runners on. Matt Strahm got Philadelphia's first two runs of the inning, then Hernández came up.

It only took two pitches. Strahm put a 91.8 MPH fastball at the top of the zone, and Hernández belted it. 5-3, Dodgers.

Hernandez was amped as he rounded the bases, and might've even yelled a choice word at the raucous Phillies crowd on the way back to the dugout, where he was showered with the requisite sunflower seeds.

Teoscar Hernández flips script, silences Phillies in Dodgers' huge NLDS Game 1 victory

The Dodgers got into some trouble in the eighth, when Tyler Glasnow, pitching in relief for the first time since 2017, entered his second inning out of the bullpen. He struck out his first batter, then gave up a walk, then struck out Kyle Schwarber, then gave up a single and a walk to load the bases with two outs.

But Alex Vesia cleaned up the inning without issue, and Roki Sasaki, the Dodgers' newly minted closer, gave up a double but took care of the ninth without allowing a run to score (and racking up a strikeout on a great splitter on the way).

Hernández gave Dodgers fans whiplash, but we'll always take the ultimate result even if it came with some (heavy) exasperation in the early going. He certainly silenced the crowd at Citizens Bank, but he also had Dodgers fans eating their words in a hurry.

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