Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia was a cauldron of noise and anticipation on October 4, 2025, as the Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies squared off in Game 1 of the National League Division Series. What began as a night dominated by the Phillies’ pitching and raucous home crowd ended in a dramatic reversal, thanks to a resilient Dodgers squad and the redemptive heroics of Teoscar Hernández.
The Phillies jumped out to a quick lead in the second inning, capitalizing on a defensive miscue by Hernández in right field. With Brandon Marsh on first and Alec Bohm on second, Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto barreled a 112 mph fastball from Shohei Ohtani deep into right. Hernández, playing shallow and taking a poor angle, watched the ball rocket past him and roll to the wall. By the time center fielder Andy Pages retrieved it, both runners had scored and Realmuto was standing on third with his first postseason triple. The crowd of 48,777 erupted, and the Phillies soon added another run on a sacrifice fly, making it 3-0.
“I was playing straight in,” Hernández admitted after the game. “I didn’t get a good angle. He hit it pretty good. I tried to get it, so he can’t go all the way to third, or they can score two runs in that situation. It went by me.” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who has publicly critiqued Hernández’s defense before, said, “I would argue that he wasn’t not trying. But, yeah, that’s a ball that you don’t want Realmuto to have a triple, certainly a short right field.”
Despite the early deficit and the hostile environment, the Dodgers refused to fold. Shohei Ohtani, making his first career postseason pitching start, settled down after the rocky second inning. He retired 15 of the final 17 batters he faced, finishing with six innings pitched, nine strikeouts, and just one walk. Ohtani’s ability to stifle the Phillies’ vaunted lineup—holding their power trio of Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, and Bryce Harper to a combined 0-for-9 with five strikeouts—kept Los Angeles within striking distance.
“I was a little nervous,” Ohtani confessed. “But once I was on the mound and on the field, that went away and it was really me focusing.” His performance set the stage for a Dodgers comeback that would electrify their dugout and silence the home crowd.
The Phillies’ starter, Cristopher Sánchez, was nearly untouchable through five innings, using his sinker and changeup to rack up 10 swings and misses and allow just two hits. But in the sixth, with two outs, Kiké Hernández—no relation to Teoscar—jumpstarted the Dodgers’ offense. He ripped a two-run double off Sánchez, slashing the Phillies’ lead to 3-2 and shifting the momentum. Dodgers hitting coach Aaron Bates had told the team to be ready for the seventh inning, and they took that advice to heart.
As the Phillies turned to their bullpen, the narrative of the night began to shift. Veteran reliever David Robertson put two runners on in the seventh, and lefty Matt Strahm was summoned to face the top of the Dodgers’ order. Strahm struck out Ohtani looking and got Mookie Betts to pop out, bringing Teoscar Hernández to the plate. Hernández, who had struck out three times already and was still haunted by his earlier defensive lapse, knew he had a chance to atone.
“I watched videos. [Strahm] likes to go up in the strike zone,” Hernández said. “My first three at-bats, I chased a lot of down. Not trying to do overswinging or anything like that. Maybe a hit. Try to bring in one run to tie the game. But he left it over the strike zone.” On a 1-0 count, Strahm left a 92 mph fastball up. Hernández didn’t miss. He crushed it 394 feet to right-center, a go-ahead three-run home run that instantly flipped the script and gave the Dodgers their first lead at 5-3.
“At the end of the day, for me, anything that happened before a big moment like that, it’s in the past,” Hernández reflected. “I try to put it in the trash and just focus on the things that I need to do in that at-bat and especially in place on defense and just trying to help my team.” The crowd, which had been deafening, fell silent. Dodgers players erupted in the dugout as Hernández rounded the bases, his redemption complete.
The Dodgers’ bullpen—often considered a liability throughout the season—held firm in the late innings. Tyler Glasnow, the projected Game 4 starter, was pressed into relief and delivered 1 2/3 scoreless innings, recording five crucial outs. “It was definitely different,” Glasnow said of the unusual role. “I was in the bathroom, and the phone rang and they yelled my name. I warmed up and it definitely felt weird, but fun; the adrenaline of kind of having more things going on, not needing as much effort to get the same stuff. Then, Teo hit the home run.”
Alex Vesia, part of the regular Dodgers relief corps, induced a flyout to center with the bases loaded in the eighth, ending the Phillies’ last serious threat. Roki Sasaki, who returned from a late-season shoulder injury and has been dominant in relief, struck out two in the ninth and secured his first big league save. Since moving to the bullpen on September 24, opponents are just 2-for-14 against Sasaki with eight strikeouts.
Hernández’s home run was his third of the postseason and extended his streak of driving in multiple runs to four straight playoff games. He has now hit safely in nine consecutive postseason games dating back to the 2024 NL Championship Series. In just 23 career postseason games, Hernández has already tallied 25 RBIs, tying him for second-most through that span behind only Lou Gehrig.
Phillies reliever Matt Strahm was candid about the pitch that decided the game: “I feel like I got gut-punched on missing two pitches. And one of the two got damaged.” His teammate, David Robertson, kept the loss in perspective: “We’re down one game. It’s not a big deal. Play the best three out of five, so we’ve got plenty of time to make up some ground.”
The Dodgers’ come-from-behind win was their 49th such victory of the 2025 season, a testament to their resilience. As third baseman Max Muncy put it, “When you come into hostile environments, there’s going to be moments that happen that, the crowd goes crazy. You just gotta find a way to weather that storm and just understand what the end goal is.”
With the Dodgers now leading the best-of-five NLDS 1-0, the pressure shifts to the Phillies as the series continues. After a night of adversity, redemption, and unwavering focus, Los Angeles heads into the next game with momentum—and a reminder that in October, no deficit is insurmountable.
