Why Was Dodgers’ Teoscar Hernández Removed For Chris Taylor in Loss to Rockies?
The Los Angeles Dodgers opted to remove Teoscar Hernández early from the game against the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday. With the Dodgers holding a 6-4 lead entering the seventh inning, manager Dave Roberts pulled Hernández in favor of Chris Taylor.
Roberts was actually considering having Hernández get a rest day during the team’s series against the Colorado Rockies. Hernández has yet to get a full day off this season, but has pulled from multiple games early to help his endurance for the season.
“Coming into this series, I was considering giving him a day off,” Roberts said, via Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times … “I felt like having CT out there to give Teo a few innings off his feet could be beneficial going into a day game [on Thursday],” Roberts said, noting that Hernández “could help us win a game tomorrow.”
Unfortunately for the Dodgers, their lead was not large enough to nail down a win Wednesday. After Hernández left the game, the Rockies scored two runs in the seventh inning and one more in the ninth to win 7-6.
Hernández has been a crucial force in the Dodgers’ lineup all season, with 18 home runs and 54 RBIs, making his absence at the end of the game tough for the Dodgers as they tried to secure the win. Taylor has struggled greatly, slashing .115/.211/.177 this season.
Of course, removing Hernández from the game isn’t the only reason the Dodgers lost. Yohan Ramirez was called on in the ninth inning to preserve a 6-6 tie and could not hold it down.
One loss likely won’t cost the Dodgers in the long run, and it’s most important for the team to have their key players like Hernández healthy for the end of the year and postseason.
Photo Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
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Roberts makes horrible decisions. His stacking the 3 MVPs at the top of the lineup is another example of his piss poor thought process. Anyone who thinks that #50, #17, & #5 are going to have great games every day is stoooopid! Rojas, Teoscar, Smith could be injected in between the MVPs and the Dodgers would most likely do a lot better.
Every manager in baseball would stack the Big 3. You want your best hitters to have the most at bats, and you want your best hitters to have the most guys on base when they are up. It is a simple calculation, and rarely deviated from by any team.
I disagree with your wording. Sure, Roberts, like every other manager, “makes horrible decisions”. It is how often and how significant they are that matters. Roberts is unconventional, but he has the highest winning percentage of any manager in history outside of the Negro League.
That said, his decisions in game 3 of the Rockies series clearly cost the Dodgers the game. First, leaving Miller in for the 7th was a big mistake. Second, substituting Taylor for Teo was crazy. And putting Ramirez in to close was the icing on the dropped cake. This one was clearly on Roberts.
But he often makes decisions like this and they work out. Every manager screws up from time to time. I like him as our manager, the players like him, and the fans like to win. I hope the Ds keep him.
Teo was one of my favorites in Toronto but the stupid clowns running the management gave him away for nothing. They didn’t think he was as good as George Springer and look at Springer now. Springer’s getting 25 million a year batting under $200 and as far as I’m concerned see Oscar Hernandez would look awfully good for that blue jays right now in right field.