Teoscar Hernández hit a pair of homers, including a grand slam, as the Los Angeles Dodgers prevailed over the New York Yankees 11-3 in the Bronx on Saturday night. The Saturday blow-out paired with Friday’s taut victory mean the Dodgers have won the first two games of the three-game series that could serve as a preview of the 2024 Fall Classic. For the Yankees, it’s their first home series loss of the 2024 season.
Hernández’s eighth-inning grand slam – a 424-footer off Tommy Kahnle – turned a 4-2 Dodgers lead into an 8-2 rout:
The 31-year-old Hernández, signed to a modest one-year, $23.5 million contract this past winter, has been a key producer in a Dodgers lineup stuffed with bigger names. After Saturday’s performance, he’s now slashing .262/.331/.500 with 15 home runs on the year.
Elsewhere, L.A. starter Gavin Stone struck out six and allowed two runs in 5 ⅔ innings. Freddie Freeman doubled twice, and Enrique Hernández also homered. With the win, the Dodgers move to 41-25 on the season and maintain a large lead in the National League West.
On the losing side, Aaron Judge homered twice and increased his MLB-leading home run tally to 23 for the season. He presently has a slash line of .298/.432/.685. The Yankees were again without their other marquee slugger Juan Soto, who remains sidelined with forearm inflammation. The club remains hopeful that he will be able to avoid a trip to the injured list.
Saturday marked the Yankees’ largest margin of defeat of the season and also marked the first time they allowed more than eight runs in 2024. In Sunday’s series finale, Aaron Boone’s club will try to avoid being swept for the first time this season. If they’re to do that, then they’ll need to take advantage of traffic on the bases. Through the first two games of the series, the Yankees have left 19 runners on base.
Despite the consecutive losses, the 45-21 Yankees maintain a grip on first place in the American League East.
