LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers had to wait until the bottom of the ninth inning, but they finally got the big hit they needed.
Teoscar Hernández came through with a two-run double to walk off the Cardinals, 3-2, on Thursday night, salvaging the finale of a three-game series at Dodger Stadium. It was the Dodgers' lone hit with runners in scoring position -- but it was better late than never.
"It was huge to finally get that big hit," said Tommy Edman, who had four of L.A.'s six hits while filling in for Shohei Ohtani in the leadoff spot. "We were kind of pressing a little bit in those first two games. Everybody was kind of trying to do too much in the big spots.
"Teo came through huge in that moment. Just can't say enough about him, and that was just such a huge at-bat, and able to kind of steal that win today."
In their past two games, the Dodgers seemingly couldn't buy a hit with runners in scoring position. They went hitless in their last 16 such at-bats on Wednesday and in their first eight such opportunities on Thursday.
But L.A. finally cashed in when Hernández, with Edman on second and Mookie Betts on first, crushed a full-count sinker from St. Louis closer Riley O'Brien to the gap in left-center. As he watched the winning run cross the plate, Hernández was visibly fired up.
"For me, results, personal -- they're good," Hernández said. "But everybody knows I'm a player that likes to win, and at the end of the day, that's what's important to me."
Following a tough past couple of months, Hernández has started to look more like himself this week.
After returning from a left hamstring strain at the end of June, Hernández hit .210 with a .592 OPS in 47 games entering last weekend's series in Detroit. The Dodgers discussed the possibility of platooning him once active rosters expanded to 28 players, but ultimately opted to give him more runway.
Hernández showed some encouraging signs in Detroit, hitting a go-ahead home run in the series finale, but he especially rose to the occasion in the series against St. Louis. Hernández hit safely in all three games, reaching base four times on Thursday before his walk-off knock.
"When I start hitting the ball hard to right field, center field, left field, and use the whole field," he said, "that's when I know my swing is on point, and everything is going to come behind that."
The Dodgers have lost six of their past nine games and are 27-27 since July 1, but they are not hitting the panic button, in part because they have maintained a 9 1/2-game lead of the D-backs in the National League West race. They've emerged from summer swoons before, and they believe that they can flip the switch again in September. As the postseason nears, they are putting their trust in their proven performers to be the impact players they need.
If Hernández continues to build momentum, that would be one of many necessary steps in the right direction.
"I've always said that we're better when he's in the lineup," manager Dave Roberts said. "But performance certainly matters, and this series, albeit a small sample, was really good. As you get to the postseason and toward the end of the season, we got to start figuring out who we can play, who we can count on, who's dependable, and the at-bats he's taken these last three games -- really good."
Hernández had been aware of the possibility that he could lose playing time if the team opted for a platoon in left field. He knew that he hadn't been performing like the Dodgers needed him to, so he did not let it weigh on him.
"I told Dave, 'If you feel like you have to use somebody else in there, just do it,'" Hernández said. "But know that I am going to keep working and I’m going to try to be ready for the times that you need me."
When the Dodgers needed him on Thursday, Hernández came through. They'll continue to need performances like that as their title defense nears its final stages.