It’s a good thing Teoscar Hernández’s bat is starting to heat up.

Because on Thursday night, he needed it to redeem a horrific defensive mistake.

With the Dodgers leading the Giants by two runs in the fifth inning, Hernández made an unthinkable play in left field, turning what should have been a routine hit into a two-run, game-tying, inside-the-park home run.

It started with Jung Hoo Lee hitting a shallow flare down the line. It got worse when, after initially giving chase, Hernández pulled up early, evidently expecting the ball to bounce over the short wall in foul territory for a ground-rule double.

Instead, disaster struck. 

The ball not only stayed in play, but hopped past Hernández and rolled all the way into the left field corner. By the time he retrieved it, Lee was already at full speed and getting waved home. The relay was too late. The game was suddenly tied.

For a Dodgers team that has been scuffling lately, entering Thursday with a 10-14 record since April 18, it was the kind of sequence that threatened to lead to another maddening defeat.

For Hernández, who has only recently begun to emerge from a deep early-season slump, it nearly dropped his campaign to a new, disappointing low.

An inning later, however, all was forgiven.

In the Dodgers’ eventual 5-2 win, Hernández didn’t have to wait long for his moment of atonement to arrive.

In the bottom of the sixth, Hernández keyed a decisive three-run rally with his third hit of the game.

He worked a full count against Giants starter Landen Roupp. He roped a line drive into left and hustled to second to put two runners in scoring position. Then, he came racing home on a two-run, pinch-hit single from Alex Call with two outs in the inning, sliding across the plate safely with one deep –– and much-needed –– sigh of relief.

The Dodgers (26-18) would tack on another run via Miguel Rojas’ RBI single in the next at-bat. They would cruise the rest of the way to their second-straight win, salvaging a split in this four-game rivalry series behind a six-inning, two-run start from Emmet Sheehan and three scoreless frames out of their bullpen.

For Hernández, a potential nightmare was avoided.

For the Dodgers, a near-calamity had been overcome.

What it means

Turns out, the Dodgers can win without Shohei Ohtani, after all.

On Thursday, the two-way star got a rare day of relaxation, being held out of the lineup as scheduled a night after his seven-inning, 105-pitch start on the mound. 

In his absence, the Dodgers turned to Will Smith to serve as designated hitter and –– for the first time in his MLB career –– leadoff man. He rose to the occasion immediately, going deep four pitches into the game to snap a three-week home run drought.

That set the tone for the Dodgers’ high-scoring performance since last Wednesday. In the second inning, the team doubled the lead after Hernández hit his first of two doubles on the night, and Hyeseong Kim snapped a 0-for-12 drought with an RBI single.

Add in their sixth-inning rally, and the Dodgers went 3-for-11 with runners in scoring position; making slight improvements in the kind of situational at-bats that have haunted them for much of this recent cold spell.

Who’s hot

Hernández … at least offensively.

While his fielding gaffe was stunning –– especially given the defensive improvements he has made this year since returning to left field, entering Thursday with a plus-one mark in defensive runs saved –– his 3-for-4 performance at the plate continued his recent turnaround as a hitter.

From April 7 to May 8, the two-time All-Star batted a woeful .196. Over the last two weeks of that stretch, he didn’t have an extra-base hit. 

But since being dropped to the No. 8 spot in the batting order for a couple games earlier this week, Hernández has started to rediscover his swing.

In his last four games, he has gone 7-for-15 with three doubles (including two on Thursday) and only three strikeouts. It has pushed his batting average on the season back to .262, and his OPS to .732.

Who’s not

Tyler Glasnow, at least not as soon as hoped.

Though the Dodgers were initially hoping that the All-Star right-hander would only miss the minimum 15 days on his injured list stint for back spasms –– he’s eligible to return to action next weekend in Milwaukee –– manager Dave Roberts said Thursday afternoon that Glasnow won’t be ready by then, with the team instead electing to “take our time” with his recovery.

Glasnow has played catch in the outfield the last couple days, but Roberts said he was unsure when he would get off a mound again.

That means, for now, rotation spots remain safe for the likes of Roki Sasaki and Emmet Sheehan –– who looked improved on Thursday, averaging nearly 95 mph with his previously declining fastball while getting seven whiffs on 14 swings with his go-to slider.

Up next

The Dodgers begin a nine-game road trip on Friday, but won’t have to go far. Instead, they’ll head to Anaheim for three games against the Angels. Blake Snell will make his second start since returning from a shoulder injury in the series-opener, squaring off against right-hander Jack Kochanowicz (2-2, 3.97).