Teoscar Hernandez's 3-run HR lifts Dodgers over Phillies _ NLDS Game 1 Recap

NLDS game one between the Dodgers and Phillies. Top of the 7th. L.A. down 3-2. 2 on, 2 out. When Teoscar Hernandez taking Matt Strom to deep right center. A go-ahead 3-run shot. The Dodgers in control of the game. Shoya Otani loving it. And then in the 9th, the tying run at the plate. Roku Sasaki on the close. He gets Bryson Stock to pop out. Dodgers going to Philly to steal game one. They win it 5-3. And listen, for much of this game, you thought the Phillies were going to win this one. They're up 3-0 and then Teoscar Hernandez happens in part. Sanchez had some great stuff, but it's the Dodgers who get the victory over the Phillies in game one. And for more, we welcome in CBS Sports MLB analyst Will Middlebrooks. And Will, it looked like for a long time, as I said, like it was going to be the Phillies night. But then Teoscar Hernandez happened doing what he does. Coming up clutch in the postseason. A go-ahead 3-run shot in the 7th. Picking up exactly where he left off from last year's playoffs. Right. So what more can you say about the heroics of Mr. Hernandez? Well, some players just have that clutch gene, right? And you start looking at this Dodger team as a whole. Like, I mean, they're just their offense is an absolute wagon. And they scored more runs this this regular season than any other team in the National League. Obviously, you look at the names in their lineup and that'll tell you why. But even guys like Kike Hernandez, who hit 2-0-3 in the regular season. But if you look at his postseason numbers, he's a 286 hitter with 15 homers. He just has that that clutch gene, that it factor. And there's a lot of guys in that lineup. So you combine superstar power with the clutch gene. And then you think it's going to run into a lot of runs. And we've seen a lot of that. But I think there'll be a lot of questions to be had to Rob Thompson after the single, the hit by pitch. And then instead of going to your closer with Shohei Otani, Mookie Betts and Teoscar Hernandez coming up. You go to Matt Strom. And I think there's gonna be a lot of questions. Because in the postseason, your closer isn't just your closer for the ninth. It's for the biggest spot in the game. And it felt like that was the biggest spot in the game. I know you trust other guys in the pen. But let's not forget this Phillies team got beat by the Mets last year in the NLDS for this same reason. They could not hold a lead late. And that's going to be a big problem for them in this series if they're not able to do it. Let's stay on the bullpen front as some interesting moves by L.A. This one, Otani starts, goes six innings. Then they go Tyler Glass now, Alex Basia. And then Roki Sasaki to shut the door in the ninth. What was your reaction to how Dave Roberts handled the pen in this one? Because we've known he's gotten a lot of flack for some of his managerial decisions in the past. Well, their bullpens have been a little suspect down the stretch. Tanner Scott did not have a good second half to the season. And I think most teams are at a disadvantage with starting pitchers when you have to play a wildcard series. Because then you can't start that second round with the top of your rotation. But it's not really an issue for the Dodgers when you essentially have four aces in Blake Snell, Yamamoto, Otani, who went today. And then Tyler Glass now, who you're talking about, who came out of the pen. So, like, they had the day off anyway. So, you'd think maybe they'd even be able to skip Glass now in the rotation, which they probably will because Snell will be ready in two days. But going to Glass now today was essentially his bullpen day. He needed to get some work in. And it just so happened to be in a high-leverage spot on the road in Philly. And then Sasaki, we've seen him come out of the pen here over the last month, and he's unbelievable. The velocity ticks up. And sometimes you don't like that with starting pitchers when you move them to the bullpen. Because sometimes when they throw harder, they lose their command. Sasaki, that has not been the issue. The fastball ticks up, and it makes that nasty split finger that much better. He is going to be the closer. They have Blake Treinen out there as well. I don't know how much high-leverage spot Tanner Scott's going to get just because of the issues he had in September. But this team is an issue, man. I mean, they can pitch. They can hit. The one issue was the bullpen. But now if you have Glass now out there, Sasaki holding down the back end now with Blake Treinen, I don't see many teams beating the Los Angeles Dodgers. Yeah, they are absolutely loaded for sure. Now, the Dodgers get the win. So, overall, great night for L.A. But it wasn't a great night for Shohei Otani at the plate. 0 for 4 with 4 Ks and a walk. Well, when you talk about or when you look at Christopher Sanchez and the way he commanded this game, what did he do to Otani to really shut him down? Well, left on left is one thing, right? That helps him in that case because of his release point. It kind of starts. He's got a three-quarters delivery, which is tough for lefties. But Shohei's Shohei. He's the best player to ever play the game. And we'll talk about him for the rest of time. But Christopher Sanchez is an ace, and he was phenomenal until he got him for that two-run double in the sixth. And then what was it? Top four of the Dodgers. What is it? The top four of their lineup is what I'm trying to say. Easy for me to say, I guess. The top four in the lineup. It's not just Otani that I was impressed with how he handled. It was the top four. So you're looking at Otani, Betts, Teoscar, Freddie Freeman. I think it's the best one through four in all of baseball. They were one for 11 off Sanchez. So he has the really good fastball. Obviously, the breaking ball, the changeup to righties that he will mix in. As we saw against Otani, he will throw the changeup left on left as well. But it's worth noting that Zach Wheeler's not there, right? He's out with thoracic outlet syndrome. He had that surgery. He's out for the season. So obviously, that's going to be an issue for the depth, their rotation. So they needed someone to step up. But now you're looking at Jesus Lozardo and Aaron Nola, who weren't great this year. And you're going up against, like I said, the best team in baseball. Yeah. Not an easy task for Philly's pitchers, Bob. But listen, it's the playoffs. So you have to level up or you're going to go home and not be happy about that. Now, in Milwaukee, it was a nightmare first inning for the Cubs. Matthew Boyd only recorded two outs. Chicago gives up six runs. And it's pretty much over from their will. What type of statement did the Brewers make on this day? Well, you've got to love the rivalry games in the postseason. I'm coming fresh off of Red Sox-Yankees, which obviously didn't go my way. You see the jersey behind me. But it's fun, right? And the Cubs struck first with Michael Bush at homer to lead off the game. You're thinking, wow, the Cubs are really going to roll into this off a wild card. And there's all the talk of, is it good to have a wild card game? Is it good to have rest? But then Milwaukee just punched him right back in the face. Six runs of their own. And they really woke up that crowd. And the place was rocking. I played there in 2016. That is a place with a great fan base. And you get them going when the team is good. And they're really fun to watch. So the Brewers only scored one first inning run in their last 15 regular season games. They scored six today. So there's no question. And Pat Murphy said at postgame, they were ready. And he kind of wondered if that would be the case with the off days they had. But I thought most importantly, they made Matthew Boyd throw 30 pitches in the first. And Craig Council had to pull him after only getting two outs. And it forced their bullpen, the Cubs' bullpen, to cover seven in the third inning in game one. And that's going to affect the entire series now. So you knew both managers were going to be aggressive with the pen because of the off day tomorrow. But Matthew Boyd, I mean, they pushed him. Because this was the first time since 2017 he pitched on only three days rest. And that was a clear issue for him. Yeah, Matthew Boyd with a day to forget. But for Milwaukee, they have all the momentum. Will Middlebrooks, we appreciate the time, man. Thank you. So again, as we were discussing, the Brewers in the first inning. Tied for the most runs in an inning in team postseason history. And their second team with six more runs in the first inning of a postseason opener. The other, the 2000 Cardinals. And the Cubs, they had allowed five runs in the wild card series versus San Diego. And just six in the first inning. Uh-uh.