We are only three games into the 2025 regular season, and extremely popular 32-year-old Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernández is already showing us why he is… well… extremely popular.
With two outs and the Dodgers down 2-1 in the bottom of the fifth against the American League Central Detroit Tigers in front of a sold-out Dodger Stadium crowd of 53,595 at Thursday’s home opener, Teo crushed a 96.6-MPH four-seam fastball from Tigers left-hander Tarik Skubal, sending it over the wall in left-center field for huge three-run home run to give his team a (then) 4-2 lead.
(ESPN)
Things were looking good for the Dodgers (in their special edition white and gold Opening Day 2025 home uniforms) until Detroit added a run in the top of the seventh to pull to within one of Dodgers manager Dave Roberts‘ team at 4-3.
Fortunately and thankfully, fellow extremely popular Dodger and international superstar Shohei Ohtani sent a 95.8-MPH sinker from Tigers right-hander Brenan Hanifee over the wall in left field in the bottom of the seventh for an opposite-field solo home run to give the Dodgers a slightly more comfortable 5-3 lead.
That lead quickly became uncomfortable when Detroit added another run in their half of the eighth, making it 5-4 good guys.
Fortunately and thankfully again, and despite those seventh and eighth-inning runs allowed by Dodgers relievers Alex Vesia and Tanner Scott (following a shutout sixth inning by Ben Casparius), Dodgers de facto closer Blake Treinen pulled off the save, although it was a tense top-of-the-ninth, with the tying runs on base.
When Teoscar was asked postgame by ESPN’s Buster Olney what he was looking for in that huge fifth-inning at-bat, the humble Cotui, Dominican Republic native, who signed with the Dodgers as a free agent on January 12, 2024 (and recently re-signed) answered:
“Obviously, we were facing Skubal, he’s a great pitcher, that’s why he won the Cy Young last year, something that I can move around on, put a good swing on, and he left the one over the plate and I hit it out.”
It would be criminal not to mention the solo home run by Dodgers center fielder Tommy Edman to left-center field in the bottom of the second inning to give the Dodgers an early 1-0 lead.
Having swept the Chicago Cubs in the two games played at the Tokyo Dome in Japan and with Thursday’s win over the Tigers, the Dodgers are off to a 3-0 start to the very young 2025 season, with hopes of becoming the first team to repeat as World Series Champions since the New York Yankees did so in 1999 and 2000.
Play Ball!
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