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Teoscar Hernández wasted no time making his presence felt. Back from his stint on the injured list, Hernández slotted right into the Dodgers lineup on Sunday and the offense responded with a 17-hit barrage in a 9-4 win over the Oakland Athletics, per the LA Times staff report.

Hernández’s return was the headline, but this was a full-roster offensive explosion. Seventeen hits from a Dodgers lineup that has spent chunks of this season searching for consistency — that’s the kind of performance that reminds you what this group looks like at full strength. We’ve talked a lot about the holes that injuries have opened up, and getting Hernández back is a significant step toward filling them. He’s been one of the most important bats in the order since signing with Los Angeles, and his ability to drive the ball to all fields and produce in the middle of the lineup is something the Dodgers have clearly missed.

Hernández came over to the Dodgers ahead of the 2024 season and made an immediate impact, earning All-Star recognition and helping power the club to a World Series title. His combination of raw power, outfield range, and clubhouse presence made him a fan favorite almost instantly. This year, his production before hitting the IL was strong enough to keep him in the All-Star conversation, and his absence left a visible gap in the lineup. Getting him back healthy and productive — not just activated, but actually producing — is exactly what this team needed heading into the second half push.

A 9-4 win over Oakland isn’t going to move the needle in any dramatic way when you zoom out to the standings, but the way the Dodgers won matters. Seventeen hits suggests the lineup was locked in from top to bottom, not just relying on one or two guys to carry the load. That’s been the difference between the Dodgers at their best and the Dodgers grinding through rough patches this season — depth of production throughout the order.

I like the timing of this. We’re heading into the final stretch before the All-Star break with several key players getting healthy at the same time. Hernández is back, the rotation is sorting itself out (though that number two spot remains an open question), and the lineup we saw Sunday looked a lot closer to what Andrew Friedman and the front office envisioned when they built this roster. If the Dodgers can keep stacking games like this — where the offense carries its share and then some — the pitching staff gets some breathing room, and this team starts looking like the juggernaut everyone expected in March.

One game doesn’t fix everything. But 17 hits and a comfortable win with a returning star making an immediate impact? That’s a good day. We’ll take it and move on to Monday.

Source(s): Staff (LA Times) | First reported: June 30, 2026 5:05 AM UTC

God Bless and Go Dodgers