Hernández and Stone lead Dodgers in finishing off homestand sweep
by Cary Osborne
Under the umbrella of massive expectations for the Dodger team coming into this season were the expectations for individual players.
They were certainly high for two-time Silver Slugger outfielder Teoscar Hernández. But there’s always the acclimation that one has to factor into a change of scenery.
Anything slightly north would be a boost for Dodger starting pitcher Gavin Stone coming off a rude awakening in his rookie season last year.
Wednesday’s sub-two-hour, 3–1 victory for the Dodgers over the Marlins was further example of how far north each player has gone and how each has been a significant part of the Dodgers living up to early team expectations.
Hernández was responsible for driving in all three of the Dodgers’ runs on Wednesday, beginning with an RBI single in the first inning and bookending with a two-run home run in the sixth inning.
Hernández has 10 home runs, a team-high 29 RBI and an .843 OPS. He has appeared in all 39 Dodger games this season.
This has him on a 42-home run/120-RBI pace.
His career high is 32 home runs and 116 RBI, when he won an American League Silver Slugger Award with Toronto,
“I think for me, he’s exceeded all of my expectations from when we acquired him,” said manager Dave Roberts.
Hernández hit four home runs and drove in seven runs during the Dodgers’ six-game homestand, which ended with sweeps of Atlanta and now Miami.
Last year, he changed sceneries from Toronto to Seattle and experienced dips in power and all slashline categories. Numerous factors played into that, including Seattle’s T-Mobile Park being one of Majors’ most unfriendly hitter ballparks.
The career American Leaguer’s change of scenery to Los Angeles thus far has been an overwhelming success.
“I think I’m doing that well because of the people that we have here,” Hernández said. “They do a pretty good job of showing me a lot of videos from the guys that obviously I haven’t faced a lot in the National League, and they’ve given me a really good plan before the game, before the series, even in Spring Training. I think that’s been the key for me to have success against the guys I haven’t faced a lot in my career.”
His two swings gave Stone all he needed in what was a third consecutive outstanding performance for the second-year starter.
Stone went seven innings, allowing six hits, no walks, one run (on a fourth-inning homer to Miami designated hitter Bryan De La Cruz) with four strikeouts over 89 pitches.
Miami’s aggressive swinging helped move the pace of the game, but Stone’s ability to command the strike zone, induce weak contact and work his changeup off his sinker and four-seam helped him pile up the outs.
Stone has pitched at least six innings in three straight starts — all Dodger wins — and has allowed three earned runs over 20 innings.
He allowed 31 earned runs over 31 innings in 2023.
“I’m just trying to not get back to the spot that I was in last year,” Stone said. “I’m thankful for last year. It taught me a lot about baseball, about the game, about life.”
The Dodgers have now won 14 of their last 16 games and are 26–13. They now head to San Diego for a three-game series on Friday.
San Diego took two of three games from the Dodgers April 12–14 during a homestand when the Dodgers dropped all three series.
