“His energy, his joy, when he’s performing, resonates with our clubhouse, our team,” Roberts said afterward, marveling at how quickly the slugger has changed the narrative of his season and cemented his place as an everyday contributor.

“I’ve always said that we’re better when he’s in the lineup. But performance certainly matters. And this series, albeit a small sample, was really good. As you get to the postseason and towards the end of the season, we got to start figuring out who we can play, who we can count on, who’s dependable. And the at-bats he’s taken these last three games, really good.”

Dodgers OF turning a corner

Statistically, Hernández’s upswing has been underway since last week, dating back to the eyebrow-raising day off he received at the start of the Dodgers’ Atlanta/Detroit road trip –– one that first raised suspicions that his playing time could be in jeopardy. 

That day, Hernández worked with the team’s hitting coaches to identify reasons for his prolonged slump.

The answer they landed on: His left hamstring injury had impacted his lower body, causing his front hip to fly open too soon and his swing to lack its normal power and adjustability.

“The more he can stay closed with the lower half and sync it up with the upper body, then it keeps him on the ball more, [gives him more] plate coverage, and then he’s able to do what he needs to do at the plate,” hitting coach Aaron Bates said. “He’s so twitchy and explosive. But he always battles staying square and that kind of thing … So that front hip staying closed, and his left hamstring [injury], it kind of goes hand-in-hand.”

That initial work led to some encouraging results. Hernández went 6-for-18 on the road trip. He felt something click on a deep flyout in Detroit last Saturday that led to his first home run in almost a month the following afternoon.

“The way my body was reacting,” he said, “it was more under control.”

Then, ahead of this week’s homestand, Hernández reincorporated a front-hip twist (as SportsNet LA also noted during Thursday’s game) that got his mechanics even more in sync.

Against the Cardinals, he went 6-for-13, hit nine of his 11 batted balls at least 100 mph, and drew as many walks as he did strikeouts (two each).

His game-winning double on Thursday, notably, also came off hard-throwing St. Louis right-hander Riley O’Brien, the latest sign Hernández is holding his own in right-on-right matchups again too.

“I think he feels his body can actually do what he needs it to, and will listen to him,” Bates said.

“It has taken a while for him to recalibrate or get that swing to where it was before he went on the IL,” Roberts added. “But this looks sustainable.”

Indeed, any talk of platoons or reduced playing time has died down for now. Just like last year, Hernández seems primed to finish his season with a flurry, overcoming another injury-triggered slump just in time to feature in another World Series pursuit.

“We didn’t bring up an outfielder,” Roberts said earlier this week when rosters expanded, “and I think that’s part of, for right now, the bet [we are making] on Teo, that he can kind of right the ship.”

So far, it looks like a wise wager.

“When he catches fire,” teammate Tommy Edman echoed, “he’s as good as anybody in the game.”