Teoscar Hernández was back in the Dodgers lineup Monday after missing about a month with a hamstring injury, and his first at-bat ended with an infield single. The Dodgers went on to beat the Athletics 9-4, and the return came at a time when they were already stretching away from the rest of the National League West.
Hernández did not sound like a player trying to make the night bigger than it was. Before the game, he said, “I don’t think they really need me in the lineup,” even as the Dodgers were winning so often that their division lead had more than doubled during his absence. That was the backdrop for his first game back on Monday in Sacramento, where a crowd watching the Athletics also saw the Dodgers keep piling up wins and keep building the gap.
The game itself showed why Hernández matters, even if he was willing to downplay it. Shohei Ohtani, Max Muncy and Andy Pages each homered, and the Dodgers finished with 17 hits. Every Dodger in the starting lineup had at least two hits except Mookie Betts, who had one. The offense did not need a rescue act; it needed more of what it already had, and Hernández’s return gave it another established bat.
There was still some unevenness behind the score. Eric Lauer gave up three runs and four hits in the second inning before settling in to work six innings and earn the victory. The Athletics briefly grabbed a 3-2 lead after Colby Thomas hit a home run, but the Dodgers answered and kept moving. Dave Roberts said Lauer has been impressive, and the win was his 999th career victory.
The larger picture is simple enough. The Dodgers are now 55-30, they lead the National League West by 11 games, and they are on pace for a runaway finish. They were also missing Will Smith, Kiké Hernández, Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell and Edwin Díaz when Teoscar Hernández returned, which is why Monday felt less like a full reset than another step in a season that has kept moving without waiting for anyone to get healthy.
What comes next is the part that still matters most for Hernández. He is back now, but the Dodgers have already shown they can keep winning without him, which means the question is not whether they need him for one night. It is whether he can stay on the field long enough to matter when the games stop feeling routine.
