The Los Angeles Dodgers finally clicked on all cylinders and successfully completed a three-game sweep of the Washington Nationals over the weekend. Aiding the club’s efforts in the finale was a solid pitching performance by Alex Wood and collective offensive outburst at the plate.
The Dodgers slugged three home runs in the contest — two of them against Nationals starter Stephen Strasburg. Yasmani Grandal accounted for the first with a solo shot in the second inning to give the Dodgers an early 1-0 lead.
Then in the fifth inning, Kiké Hernandez delivered a go-ahead two-run blast to put the Dodgers back on top, 3-2. The big fly additionally ended Los Angeles’ team streak of 17 consecutive solo home runs dating back to May 1.
After the game, Hernandez revealed that Chase Utley recommended using his bat in the wake of Hernandez striking out in the second inning, via SportsNet LA:
“After my first at-bat my Dad, Chase, told me to use his bat. And I did, and first pitch I hit a homer. Yeah, it’s Dad’s bat.”
Utley’s sage advice seemingly paid off, as Hernandez slugged his sixth home run of the season and first since May 8. Moreover, the 26-year-old was mired in a lengthy slump before using his teammate’s bat to snap out of his funk.
Prior to his home run, Hernandez was just 5-for-37 this month (.135) with 14 strikeouts and two extra-base hits. All-in-all this season, he is batting .210/.298/.429 with three doubles, one triple, six home runs and 14 RBI in 121 plate appearances.
The Dodgers now return to Los Angeles for a 10-game homestand and look to extend their four-game winning streak against the Colorado Rockies, who they’ll meet for the first time this season on Monday.
