Enrique and Teoscar Hernández Have Hit the Reset Button in Well timed Trend

Unhittable beginning pitching has carried the Dodgers by means of the Wild Card and Division Collection and staked them to a 2-0 lead over the Brewers within the Nationwide League Championship Collection. However as Blake Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto have made the the largest headlines, a few of their elite hitters akin to Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, and Will Smith have scuffled. In the meantime Enrique Hernández and Teoscar Hernández (no relation) have picked up the slack, recalling their contributions throughout final yr’s championship run; their efforts even bookended the fateful game-tying five-run rally in the World Collection clincher in opposition to the Yankees. After subpar common seasons married by accidents, each have rediscovered their groove in October.

At American Household Discipline on Tuesday evening, the dynamic duo shone as soon as once more throughout the Dodgers’ 5-1 victory in Sport 2. With the workforce trailing 1-0 within the second inning following Jackson Chourio’s leadoff homer off Yamamoto, Teoscar acquired forward 3-0 in opposition to Freddy Peralta, then pounced on the following pitch thrown within the zone, a 3-2 hanging curveball, and demolished it for a towering solo residence run — 105.9 mph off the bat, with a 39-degree launch angle — to left subject.

That was Teoscar’s fourth homer of the playoffs, tying Michael Busch for the postseason lead (Vladimir Guerrero Jr. joined them on Wednesday). Two batters and one out later, Enrique labored the rely to 2-2, then ripped a middle-middle four-seamer for a 98-mph groundball single into middle subject. He scored the go-ahead run when Andy Pages doubled into the suitable subject nook.

Each batters collected their second hits of the evening off Abner Uribe, who entered with two outs within the sixth after Max Muncy’s homer prolonged the Dodgers’ result in 3-1. Teoscar gave a impolite welcome to Uribe, lining a single off his proper leg and taking second base when the pitcher threw wildly from his knees into foul territory. He went no additional, however Enrique acquired issues cooking within the seventh inning by lofting a 101-mph drive to the bottom of the middle subject wall for a leadoff double. Pages sacrificed him to 3rd, after which Ohtani drove him in with a single to proper for the Dodgers’ fourth run.

The additional cushioning, which included one other run within the eighth, emboldened supervisor Dave Roberts to permit Yamamoto to throw the Dodgers’ first postseason full sport since Jose Lima went the space in opposition to the Cardinals within the 2004 Division Collection.

By way of their workforce’s eight postseason video games — a two-game sweep of the Reds within the Wild Card Collection, a four-game victory over the Phillies within the NLDS, and the primary two video games in opposition to the Brewers — the 2 Hernándezes lead all Dodgers regulars in wRC+. Enrique is hitting .379/.455/.517 for a 176 wRC+; he’s tops among the many regulars in batting common, on-base share, and runs scored (seven) regardless of hitting sixth or decrease in all eight video games, and eighth in each NLCS video games. Teoscar is hitting .294/.333/.676 for a 175 wRC+ whereas main the workforce in slugging share; along with being tied for the general postseason residence run lead, he’s tied with Guerrero for the RBI lead with 10. These performances have helped offset the struggles of Ohtani (.147/.275/.324, 40 wRC+), Pages (.069/.129/.103, -35 wRC+), Smith (.238/.333/.238, 60 wRC+), and Freeman (.217/.333/.304, 77 wRC+ by means of the primary two rounds earlier than gathering two extra-base hits in Sport 1). Muncy (155 wRC+), Mookie Betts (141 wRC+), and Tommy Edman (141 wRC+) have bolstered the offense as properly, although none has been fairly as relentless as both Hernández.

For each gamers, the postseason has supplied a chance to show the web page on disappointing common seasons. Enrique, who missed seven weeks in July and August as a result of irritation in his left elbow, hit a dismal .203/.255/.366 with 10 homers and a 70 wRC+, his lowest mark since 2016. His 31.2% chase fee, 13.2% swinging strike fee, and 26.6% strikeout fee all set profession highs, with the final of these a seven-point soar from final season, the majors’ seventh-largest improve. As typical, he was higher in opposition to lefties (.202/.269/.415, 85 wRC+) than righties (.203/.245/.333, 59 wRC+), and was greater than strong on the defensive aspect whereas filling in at 5 positions (first, second, third, left, and middle). He even threw 5 1/3 innings of mopup reduction, with 4 of his 5 appearances in blowout wins, although he posted a 15.19 ERA in that context, and in his final two outings, he was so dangerous that Roberts deployed precise relievers to bail him out.

Given the struggles of Michael Conforto this yr (an 83 wRC+ and -0.6 WAR in 138 video games), the Dodgers can hardly be faulted for turning to “Señor Octubre,” who has began six of their eight video games this postseason in left subject plus two at third base (each in opposition to Phillies lefty Cristopher Sánchez). No participant in baseball historical past has punched thus far above his weight throughout the postseason for thus lengthy; a profession .236/.305/.403 (91 wRC+) hitter throughout 4,152 plate appearances within the common season, he’s hit .290/.364/.521 (138 wRC+) with 15 residence runs in 292 plate appearances in 10 completely different postseasons, a run that has included 4 pennants and two championships with the Dodgers.

Enrique has but to homer this postseason, however he has 4 two-hit video games, 4 doubles, 4 walks, and 4 RBI. His greatest hits have been his game-tying double off the Reds’ Zack Littell within the fourth inning of Wild Card Collection Sport 2 and his two-run double off Sánchez within the sixth inning of Division Collection Sport 1, when the Dodgers trailed 3-0. He’s additionally demonstrated a Zelig-like knack for turning up at different vital moments. His RBI fielder’s selection (which scored Teoscar) opened the scoring within the seventh inning of Division Collection Sport 2 (his solely hitless sport up to now); that plate look was his second of the collection in opposition to reliever Orion Kerkering, who retired him in Sport 1, and it proved to be invaluable. The subsequent time he confronted Kerkering, within the eleventh inning of Sport 4, he labored a six-pitch stroll that loaded the bases, setting stage for the walk-off error that ended the collection. Enrique additionally singled off Uribe amid the ninth-inning rally that gave the Dodgers a much-needed insurance coverage run in Sport 1, and he’s added some slick protection at each positions he’s performed, as properly.

Briefly, he’s been an absolute bottom-of-the-lineup pest. Each his 12.1% stroll fee and 21.2% strikeout fee are substantial enhancements on his common season marks. Whereas his common exit velocity is down from the common season (86.1 mph versus 90.1), his hard-hit fee is up (from 37.6% to 45.5%), and he’s carrying an absurd .500 BABIP. All of it appears slightly unsustainable, however the woods are full of the bones of opposing pitchers who underestimated him in October.

Within the wake of final yr’s World Collection win, Betts hosted a podcast involving a number of teammates, together with Enrique, who provided an eye-opening clarification for his October success, one which he connects to his attention-deficit/hyperactivity dysfunction:

“I feel my superpower can be my kryptonite — that’s referred to as ADHD. Through the season, my mind is simply all over the place and the postseason, it simply brings out hyperfocus. I simply go into compete mode. I don’t actually give a shit about how I really feel… After I go to residence plate, the whole lot turns into silent, and there’s no one however the pitcher and I, and I simply go into compete mode.”

Previous to Sport 2 of the Wild Card Collection, after he’d gone 2-for-3 however taken an early exit as a result of again tightness, Enrique mentioned his means to reset himself in October:

“I do know they introduced me right here for these kind of moments… You may have a foul yr and also you flip the script and also you begin over within the postseason. You’ve gotten postseason, assist the workforce win, we win all of it, and no one ever remembers what you probably did within the common season; all people remembers what occurred within the playoffs.”

Teoscar is engaged on an analogous turnaround following his second mediocre common season out of the previous three. He joined the Dodgers after a one-year stopover in Seattle, the place he hit 26 residence runs however managed only a 107 wRC+ with 1.9 WAR. He signed a one-year, $23.5 million contract (of which $8.5 million was deferred) with Los Angeles in January 2024, after which hit .272/.339/.501 (132 wRC+) and set profession highs in homers (33) and steals (12) en route to three.4 WAR. The mix of that efficiency and the nice vibes generated by his function within the championship run led the Dodgers to re-sign the slugger (who turned 33 on Wednesday) for 3 years and $66 million, once more with deferrals ($23.5 million), plus a membership possibility for 2028 and a conditional possibility for ’29 associated to time missed as a result of damage.

Following a sizzling begin — .315/.333/.600 (155 wRC+) with 9 residence runs by means of Might 5 — Teoscar’s efficiency eroded after he landed on the injured listing as a result of a Grade 1 groin pressure. He missed 12 video games then, and three extra as a result of a bone bruise after fouling a ball off his left foot on July 5. From the purpose of his IL stint by means of the top of the season, he hit simply .223/.268/.404 with 16 homers and an 84 wRC+, with even decrease marks within the final class from June by means of August (successive wRC+ of 62, 80, and 78) earlier than lastly heating up (112 wRC+) in September. His ultimate .247/.284/.454 (102 wRC+) line included a career-low OBP, his lowest wRC+ since his 41-game 2016 rookie season with the Astros, and a drop to 0.6 WAR.

Teoscar struggled with the mechanics of his swing, as you would possibly surmise. A take a look at his batting stance metrics at Statcast reveals that after establishing with a stance angle that was open by a median of 1 diploma from June by means of September of final yr (and didn’t deviate by greater than a level in both course prior), his month-to-month averages have been all around the map this season, as the position of his left (entrance) foot and the width of his stance diversified: 5 levels in March/April, then successive months at 16, 8, 3, 9, and three once more. He nonetheless swung about as arduous as final season, however his high quality of contact suffered:

The declines within the particular person metrics themselves stand out lower than the broader pattern relating to his percentile rankings; the place Teoscar ranged from the 74th to the 94th percentile in exit velo, barrel and hard-hit charges, and xWOBA in 2024, he spanned the fifty fifth and 72nd percentiles in these classes in ’25. In different phrases, he simply wasn’t as particular.

When it comes to his high quality of contact, Teoscar was typically trending upward over the ultimate month of the season, and thus far within the postseason, he’s produced a median exit velo of 91.6 mph, with an 11.1% barrel fee, a 55.6% hard-hit fee, a .524 xSLG, and a .369 xwOBA — all considerably greater than his common season marks save for the barrel fee, which is an in depth sufficient approximation.

Teoscar doesn’t rely closely on pull-side energy for his manufacturing. His pulled air fee in 2024 was simply 13.9%; it reveals up in mild blue on his Statcast web page. That fee dipped to 12.6% and a barely darker blue this yr. His 1.053 SLG on reverse subject fly balls ranked third within the majors final season, behind solely Rafael Devers and Aaron Choose, each of whom had a lot shorter fence distances to take care of (Fenway Park’s Inexperienced Monster and Yankee Stadium’s quick porch). This yr, that SLG slipped to .581:

Teoscar misplaced a median of 9 ft on his reverse subject fly balls, in comparison with 22 ft on his pulled ones, however the change within the former usually meant the distinction between an extra-base hit and an out. Thus far within the postseason, he’s hit 5 oppo flies, which have averaged a extra consultant 309 ft; he’s slugging 1.600 on these, with two leaving the yard: his fifth-inning solo shot off the Reds’ Connor Phillips within the Wild Card Collection opener, and his seventh-inning three-run blast off the Phillies’ Matt Strahm in Sport 1 of the Division Collection. Clearly, that’s a particularly small pattern, nevertheless it bodes properly.

Teoscar’s lower-body accidents had an affect on different sides of his sport, as properly. His dash velocity dropped from the 83rd percentile final yr to the 68th in 2025, and he slipped from 12 stolen bases in 15 makes an attempt to 5 in seven makes an attempt; he stole only one base after his IL stint. Defensively, for the second yr in a row, his metrics have been brutal, this time whereas enjoying proper subject completely as a substitute of splitting time between the corners:

Amongst proper fielders, solely Juan Soto (-13) and Nick Castellanos (-12) had decrease FRVs this season. As in 2024, Roberts usually changed Teoscar for defensive functions within the late innings, typically transferring Pages over from middle and inserting a reserve in middle. These days, that job has gone to Justin Dean, who between the common and postseasons has performed 26 video games whereas attending to bat simply twice.

One can hardly blame Roberts for that tactic, which he deployed steadily even earlier than issues got here to a head following a walk-off loss on August 18 at Coors Discipline. In that one, two performs by Teoscar arrange three of the 4 runs the Rockies scored. Within the third inning, he pulled up quick in pursuit of a Brenton Doyle fly ball, then threw to the fallacious base, leading to runners on second and third; each scored on a subsequent single. Within the ninth, enjoying in a no-doubles alignment, he was too sluggish pursuing an Ezequiel Tovar fly ball; as a substitute it deflected off his glove as he charged in, establishing the game-winning hit. “He’s acquired to get higher on the market,” stated Roberts afterwards. “There’s simply no solution to put it. I do know there’s effort — it’s not an absence of effort. However the factor is, we’ve simply acquired to get higher.”

Teoscar’s defensive lapses haven’t completely abated. Within the second inning of the Division Collection opener, he was too sluggish in stopping a J.T. Realmuto grounder into right-center from rolling to the wall. The Phillies’ first two runs scored on the play, and Realmuto slid headfirst into third with a triple. “I used to be enjoying straight in. I didn’t get angle,” Teoscar advised reporters afterwards. “It glided by me.” Thankfully, he rebounded to hit what proved to be the sport’s decisive residence run. “On the finish of the day, for me, something that occurred earlier than a giant second like that, it’s prior to now. I attempt to put it within the trash and simply concentrate on the issues that I must do in that at-bat.”

Turning the web page, flipping the script, hitting the reset button, taking out the trash — select your metaphor — is a necessary talent in baseball given the grind of the season and the frequency of failure. For each Hernándezes, it’s only one extra approach during which they’ve helped the Dodgers separate themselves from the pack and play deep into October.