The Los Angeles Dodgers grabbed a 1-0 series edge over the Philadelphia Phillies courtesy of a gutsy 5-3 Game 1 win on the road. Outfielder Teoscar Hernandez gave them the lead in the top of the seventh inning when he cranked a three-run home run off of Phillies reliever Matt Strahm.
After the game, Hernandez spoke about the adjustments he made before hitting the game-winning home run.
“I watched videos. He likes to go up in the strike zone,” Hernandez told David Schoenfield of ESPN. “I think that's when he's stronger. And something up in the strike zone. My first three at-bats, I chased a lot of down. Not trying to do overswinging or anything like that. Maybe a hit. Try to bring in one run to tie the game. But he left it over the strike zone.”
Strahm has struggled in the postseason previously. During last October’s NLDS against the New York Mets, the West Fargo native surrendered four runs over two innings.
“I feel like I got gut-punched on missing two pitches,” said Strahm. “And one of the two got damaged.”
Hernandez seems primed to have another impactful postseason. He’s already hit three home runs over the Dodgers’ first three games of the tournament, and has seemed to move past an inconsistent 2025 regular season
At the end of the day, for me,” Hernandez told MLB.com, “anything that happened before a big moment like that, it's in the past. I try to put it in the trash and just focus on the things that I need to do in that at-bat and especially in plays on defense and just trying to help my team.”
The Dodgers and Phillies will continue their series on Monday night.
