Teoscar Hernández has a simple mantra for mistakes: “put them in the trash.” On Saturday night at Citizens Bank Park, he did just that — and then put one in the seats.
After a defensive lapse in the second inning helped fuel a three-run frame for Philadelphia, Hernández redeemed himself in emphatic fashion, crushing a go-ahead, three-run homer in the seventh inning to rally the Los Angeles Dodgers past the Phillies 5-3 in Game 1 of the National League Division Series.
The blast flipped a tight game on its head and bailed out Shohei Ohtani, who endured a turbulent night both on the mound and at the plate in his first postseason start as a Dodger.
“I just tried to forget about the mistake and do my job,” Hernández said. “In that moment, I was just looking for something to drive. It felt amazing when I connected.”
The reigning World Series champions showed their resilience once again. Ohtani, despite an 0-for-4 showing with four strikeouts — including a missed opportunity in the seventh with two runners on — gutted through six innings on the mound, striking out nine while overcoming early jitters and a rowdy Philadelphia crowd that lived up to its “four hours of hell” reputation.
Ohtani admitted afterward that he felt the nerves. “It was loud from the first pitch,” he said. “But I just tried to stay focused pitch by pitch.”
After surrendering three runs in the second inning, Ohtani locked in, retiring 11 straight Phillies at one point. He finished six innings, allowing just four hits and walking one.
Los Angeles’ bullpen did the rest. Tyler Glasnow, working in relief for the first time in months, loaded the bases in the eighth before Alex Vesia came in and retired pinch-hitter Edmundo Sosa on a flyout to preserve the lead. Roki Sasaki then worked a perfect ninth for his first career save — completing a bit of baseball history, as Ohtani and Sasaki became the first Japanese-born starter and reliever to earn a win and save in the same postseason game.
The Phillies struck first in the second inning when J.T. Realmuto’s drive to right-center turned into a two-run triple after Hernández misplayed the ball. Harrison Bader followed with a sacrifice fly to make it 3-0.
Phillies starter Cristopher Sánchez — thrust into the ace role after Zack Wheeler was lost for the season with a blood clot complication — looked every bit the part early. He struck out Ohtani three times and punched out seven overall while holding L.A. scoreless through five innings.
But the Dodgers’ lineup finally broke through in the sixth. Kiké Hernández ripped a two-out, two-run double down the left-field line to cut the deficit to 3-2 and chase Sánchez from the game.
In the seventh, Will Smith was hit by a pitch and Mookie Betts reached on a single before Hernández stepped up with two outs against Matt Strahm. The veteran slugger launched a fastball the other way, silencing the crowd and sending the Dodgers’ dugout into a frenzy.
Ohtani, hat off and grinning, rose from the bench to join in the celebration — a moment of exhale for the two-way superstar whose strikeouts had nearly doomed the inning moments earlier.
While Ohtani became the first player in postseason history to strike out four times as a hitter and strike out nine batters as a pitcher in the same game, his struggles at the plate quickly became an afterthought in an exhilarating Dodgers comeback.
Los Angeles held the Phillies to just two hits after the third inning, and Philadelphia’s big bats — Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper, and Alec Bohm — combined to go 1-for-13 with no RBIs.
With the victory, the Dodgers took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five series and maintained their postseason momentum after sweeping the Reds in the Wild Card round.
Game 2 is set for Monday night in Philadelphia, where Ohtani’s struggles will fade into memory — and Hernández’s redemption swing will echo as the defining moment of another October statement from the defending champions.
