Dodgers’ Mookie Betts, Teoscar Hernandez Make Franchise History
How Mookie Betts or Teoscar Hernandez didn’t win National League Player of the Week remains questionable. (The Diamondbacks’ Lourdes Gurriel Jr. took the honors for the four-day “week.”) The two at least made a bit of baseball history Monday night against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium.
When Hernandez launched his fourth home run of the year into the left field bleachers during the bottom of the sixth inning, he joined Betts with four home runs each through the first seven games of the season. According to MLB.com’s Sarah Langs, it’s the first time a pair of Dodgers teammates have each hit four homers through the first seven games in the same season. They’re tied for the league lead.
The two players also lead the team in RBIs, with Betts at 10 and Hernandez at nine. They also are first and second in runs scored. Betts has scored 12 runs and Hernandez has scored eight.
Hernandez has been a productive addition to the middle of the Dodgers’ lineup. He reportedly passed on several larger contract offers to sign a one-year, $23.5 million deal with the Dodgers in January.
“I think with Teoscar, it’s not right-handed vs. left-handed. For him, it’s just pitch selection, and he’s hitting some breaking balls that are down below the zone and taking some good swings. It’s a stressful one through five in our lineup, and obviously when you have him in the six-hole, there’s a lot of traffic, there always seems to be guys on base, and he has that propensity to get that big hit.”
— Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, via MLB.com
With Hernandez hitting for power out of the No. 6 spot, the daunting task for opposing pitchers to get through all nine batters in the lineup is becoming tougher. However, the scariest part is that the season just started.
Photo Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
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