July 22, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers left fielder Teoscar Hernandez (37) celebrates after hitting an RBI single in the eighth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports It’s been a forgettable time for Teoscar Hernandez, and the Los Angeles Dodgers power hitter will be out Tuesday for Game 2 of a four-game series against the visiting San Francisco Giants.
Hernandez hit a home run and two RBI singles to give the Dodgers a 3-2 victory over the rival Giants on Monday. The effort came exactly one week after Hernandez won the Home Run Derby in Arlington, Texas.
On his tiebreaking single in the eighth inning Monday, Hernandez slammed his bat, thumped his chest twice as he ran toward first base and roared toward the Dodgers’ dugout after reaching the bag.
“In the big moments, I try to calm down so I can do my job and that’s what I did today,” Hernandez said on the SportsNet LA broadcast. “I didn’t change my swing in the derby. I tried to take it easy and easy; I know I have power. … I think it fixed my swing, honestly, to get the ball in the air.”
A day after Dodgers right-hander River Ryan made his major league debut by allowing just one run in 5 1/3 innings, Los Angeles will send another rookie to the mound in right-hander Landon Knack.
Knack (1-2, 3.23 ERA) has been effective in eight outings (seven starts) this season. He started at San Francisco on June 28 and allowed one run on five hits in 4 2/3 innings without a decision. The Dodgers lost the game 5-3.
This could be his last chance to contribute for a while. The Knack’s outing comes a day before Tyler Glasnow is removed from injured reserve to start against the Giants and Clayton Kershaw makes his season debut a day later after shoulder surgery.
“It’s a big week,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “We’re getting our pitching back in order, it’s starting to look more like our club.”
The Giants are set to send right-hander Jordan Hicks (4-6, 3.79) to the mound Tuesday. Hicks is winless in his last nine starts, going 0-5 with a 5.57 ERA over that stretch. In two starts in July, he is 0-2 with a 7.71 ERA (9 1/3 innings).
Hicks has a 1.23 ERA with no decisions in nine career appearances (two starts) against Los Angeles.
Like the Dodgers, the Giants are in the midst of a rotation adjustment. Left-hander Robbie Ray is expected to make his debut at San Francisco on Wednesday after recovering from Tommy John surgery. Logan Webb will move ahead of Kyle Harrison and start the final series on Thursday.
The Giants could use some offensive consistency after going 1-3 since the All-Star break. Rookie Tyler Fitzgerald is doing all he can with a home run in each of the four games. It’s San Francisco’s longest home run streak since Brandon Belt also hit four games in May 2018.
But San Francisco went 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position in Monday’s one-run loss.
“I feel pretty good and I’m just trying to take advantage of their mistakes,” Fitzgerald said of opposing pitchers. “I’m taking a lot of hits, I got here early, I prepared well and I went about it the right way. I’m enjoying the way I feel right now because in this game, it never lasts. I’m just trying to see things and take good hits.”
–Field level media
