Sports
Teoscar Hernández has decisive hit as amazing seven-run ninth rallies Dodgers past Rockies
During his team’s resurgence at the plate in recent weeks, in which the Dodgers have once again looked like their high-powered selves, Dave Roberts has used one adjective in his praise of the club above all else.
On more than one occasion, the manager has highlighted his lineup’s “fight” at the plate, extolling their ability to battle off pitches, extend at-bats and keep the team in games.
“We always talk about it here in the clubhouse,” outfielder Teoscar Hernández said. “Don’t give away at-bats. Fight through the at-bats. See a lot of pitches. And try to get a good one.”
On Tuesday, in the kind of comeback the club had not experienced in almost 100 years, the Dodgers epitomized everything Roberts and his players had been talking about, exploding for seven runs in an historic ninth-inning rally to snatch an unlikely 11-9 win over the Colorado Rockies.
“Man, there’s a lot to unpack,” Roberts said afterward, still buzzing from the franchise’s biggest ninth-inning comeback since 1957, and first in which they’d erased a five-run ninth-inning hole without playing extra innings since 1929. “That fight, I couldn’t be more proud of the guys.”
On three separate occasions Tuesday, the Dodgers found themselves trailing by five.
The Rockies led 6-1 in the bottom of the second, and 7-2 at the end of the fourth, with each run coming against Walker Buehler in his worst start of an already frustrating season.
Colorado was ahead 9-4 going into the eighth, having extinguished one Dodgers rally on a diving catch from Brenton Doyle in center field in the top of the seventh, and scoring an insurance run off Dodgers reliever Michael Peterson in his MLB debut a half-inning later.
But, even with their closer, Tyler Kinley, in the game, and the bottom of the Dodgers order due up in the ninth, the Rockies couldn’t get over the finish line.
Instead, the Dodgers loaded the bases on a single and two walks. They got back within one on a pinch-hit grand slam from Jason Heyward. And then — in a moment that not only flipped the script of Tuesday night’s game, but also defined the identity the Dodgers have been striving for this season — Hernández came to the plate, stayed alive in a two-strike at-bat, then launched a towering three-run home run the other way.
A thunderous bow on a seven-run outburst.
“When Jason hit that grand slam to turn the lineup over,” Hernández said, “you knew something was going to happen.”
A few weeks ago, such confidence at the plate appeared to be in short supply for the Dodgers. During a 12-12 stretch from May 10 to June 5, their star-studded offense averaged just 3.7 runs per game. Hitting in the clutch was a particular area of repeated frustration.
Since then, though, the lineup has started to rediscover its stride.
In their last 12 games, the Dodgers are 8-4. They are averaging more than 6.25 runs per contest in that stretch. And this week, they’ve totaled 20 runs in two games at Coors Field even while missing leadoff hitter Mookie Betts, who is out six to eight weeks with a hand fracture.
In Betts’ place, other stars like Shohei Ohtani (who hit his National League-leading 20th home run of the season Tuesday a whopping 476 feet) and Hernández (who is leading the team with 54 RBIs) have stepped up. But the team’s all-around approach has made key strides, too.
“That’s our approach to every single at-bat, every single day,” Heyward said. “Sometimes it looks ugly. Sometimes it looks pretty. But when you’re able to stick with that over the course of a season, to fill out big games, big spots, big moments, I think that’s how you get better. That’s how you improve.”
It’s also how the unlikleiest of wins can still be achieved — how the Dodgers, once looking left for dead on Tuesday, found a way to keep staying alive.
Heyward’s at-bat was perhaps most impressive, a two-strike battle in which the veteran outfielder eventually prevailed.
After swinging through one slider in a 2-and-1 count, then fouling off another on the very next pitch, Heyward simplified his mindset at the plate.
“I just told myself, ‘Alright, you got a feel for the take, you got a feel for the swing. So right here, take your time,’” he said. “If it’s there, it’s there. If it’s not, tip my cap.”
When Kinley fired a third-straight slider, Heyward hammered a high line drive off the foul pole in right.
The deficit suddenly trimmed to one, Ohtani kept the inning going by slicing a single to left, then advancing to second on a wild pitch. The Rockies intentionally walked Freddie Freeman with first base open. That brought up Hernández in the type of high-leverage moment he has thrived in all year.
“He reminds me of Manny Ramirez,” Roberts said. “When guys are on base, that’s when he really starts to lock it in and focus. He hunts those RBIs. That’s how you win baseball games.”
Hernández’s at-bat wasn’t without controversy. With two outs and two strikes, he contorted his body to check what would have been a game-ending swing.
The Rockies appealed to first base umpire Lance Barksdale, but he upheld the call. Manager Bud Black came out to argue, but was immediately ejected from the game. Video replay made it seem like Hernández might have gone around. Countless batters have been called out for less.
“It was close,” Hernández said. “Now that I saw the replay, I don’t think so. But you could’ve called it either way, and I think it would’ve been fine.”
The at-bat still alive, Hernández attacked the very next pitch, clubbing a center-cut fastball the other way for the deciding three-run shot.
“I honestly feel like we just got rewarded with our process right there,” Heyward said.
A process that, lately, has been marked by the Dodgers’ ability to battle at the plate and — even down five runs in the ninth inning — find a way to fight.
Buehler IL stint “possible”
After Buehler’s four-inning, seven-run start Tuesday — the most runs the pitcher has given up in a start since 2019 — both he and Roberts hinted at the possibility of the right-hander getting some sort of break amid his poor start to the season.
With a 5.84 ERA through eight starts this year, in his first season back from a 2022 Tommy John surgery, Buehler said there has been some thought internally of giving him a midseason “blow” in order to “reset” his performance.
Buehler was also hit in the hip by a comebacker Tuesday. While it didn’t force him from the game early, Roberts said there was some “concern” about the residual soreness it would create, making an injured list stint “possible” for the struggling 29-year-old.
“Given how he’s feeling, how he’s throwing the baseball and what happened tonight with that liner off his hip, it’s certainly going to be a conversation,” Roberts said. “We have some off days coming up that could line up so a blow is possible, for sure.”
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When will Team USA lose in the 2026 FIFA World Cup? Or, will it not lose at all?
Let’s check out the odds for the Americans’ stage of elimination at FanDuel Sportsbook, as of June 11.
Team USA — Stage of elimination odds
Last 32: +170 (bet $10 to win $27 total)
Last 16: +220 (bet $10 to win $32 total)
Group stage: +500 (bet $10 to win $60 total)
Quarterfinals: +500 (bet $10 to win $60 total)
Semifinals: +1200 (bet $10 to win $130 total)
Runner-up: +2800 (bet $10 to win $290 total)
Outright winner: +6000 (bet $10 to win $610 total)
This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. If you sign up or place a wager, FOX Sports may be compensated. Read more about Sports Betting on FOX Sports.
The outlook appears to be … ho-hum?
If the odds ring true, the Americans are expected to make it out of the group stage but fall in the first knockout stage game.
How would that result stack up against previous results? Well, at the 2022 World Cup, Team USA made it to the Round of 16, which was viewed as a stellar accomplishment.
The U.S. men’s national team currently has 60-1 odds to lift the 2026 FIFA World Cup trophy this summer (Photo by Omar Vega/USSF/Getty Images).
In 2018, the USA did not qualify for the World Cup, and in 2014 and 2010, the Americans also made it to the Round of 16. Their best result this century occurred in 2002, when the Americans made it all the way to the quarterfinals before being eliminated.
In 1998, Team USA lost in the group stage, in 1994, it fell in the Round of 16, and in 1990, it also fell in the group stage.
With the expanded World Cup format, 32 teams will advance to the knockout stage (out of 48), giving teams a much better chance of getting out of the group stage than in previous tournaments. In past years, only 50% of the field advanced to the knockout round, but now 66.6% of teams will move on.
With that being said, anything less than a knockout round appearance on home soil would be viewed as a major failure this summer for Team USA.
The second result on the oddsboard is the “Last 16,” meaning the USA would make it out of the group stage and win one knockout stage game, before falling in the second knockout stage game. The third result is that the Americans failed to make it out of the group stage, and the fourth is that they made it to the quarterfinals, meaning they won two knockout stage games.
Making the semis, losing in the championship game and winning the championship are the three results with the longest odds.
The U.S. begins its World Cup journey on Friday as the Stars and Stripes face Paraguay at Los Angeles Stadium. Getting off to a fast start in the group is crucial for the team’s World Cup dreams of making a deep run this summer.
PITTSBURGH — The Dodgers couldn’t have asked for better timing, as Shohei Ohtani’s leadoff spot came back around.
They were clinging to a two-run lead in the top of the seventh inning against the Pirates on Thursday. With one out and runners on first and second, the Dodgers superstar, who had already reached base four times, was due up.
Instead, Santiago Espinal stepped up to the plate as a pinch-hitter.
Ohtani left the game with inflammation in his left knee, the Dodgers announced. They did not immediately offer an explanation for the injury.
Before leaving, Ohtani hit a solo home run — his second homer in as many games — a single and drew two walks.
It was an impressive performance, coming a day after he took on two-way duties. On the mound Wednesday, he allowed three earned runs in 6⅔ innings.
Earlier in the game Thursday, Dodgers starting pitcher Justin Wrobleski exited with a bruised right hamstring, the team said.
The fifth inning had already begun to spiral on him. After throwing four scoreless innings, he surrendered two solo home runs to Rafael Flores Jr. (the first of his major-league career) and Brandon Lowe.
Then Bryan Reynolds hit a line-drive comebacker off Wrobleski’s leg. The ball ricocheted to the edge of the infield grass, where first baseman Freddie Freeman picked it up.
Wrobleski was already racing toward first base. But after turning to catch the throw, he missed the base and stumbled backward into Reynolds, who tripped over Wrobleski’s extended left foot.
Wrobleski limped away, and an athletic trainer followed him, circling back to the mound. But as he was setting up to throw a warm-up pitch, manager Dave Roberts came out to make a pitching change.
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Seven-time NBA champion Robert Horry has some simple advice for Caitlin Clark: Fight back.
Horry, 55, was asked about the criticism the Indiana Fever star has gotten for complaining to the referees, and Horry said Clark needs to protect herself.
“You think about when you when you’re the best, everybody want to knock you out. And I think a lot of people are going after her and for me, just play the game,” Horry told Fox News Digital at The World Cup 2026 Kickoff Party Blue Carpet at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark waits for play to resume during the fourth quarter against the Golden State Valkyries at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on May 28, 2026. (David Gonzales/Imagn Images)
“Some other players around the league didn’t protect themselves, and the (harassment) went on, so my best advice (for) her is protect yourself. Don’t let nobody try to punk you.”
Horry played with Basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal and cited him as an example of a player who fought back.
“I think I (played) with one of the greatest players (in) Shaquille O’Neal, he got hammered. I know he’s bigger and stronger than Caitlin, but he got to a point where he just started fighting back. You know, someone (elbowed him), you elbow him back.”
Clark has taken some hard fouls during her three seasons in the WNBA, with many fans wondering if the treatment from her competitors is intentional. The 24-year-old frequently pleads her case to the referees after contact, which has drawn the ire of fans who say she complains too much.
ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON’T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!
Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever reacts after a foul was called during the first half against the Portland Fire at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, on May 30, 2026. (Ali Gradischer/Getty Images)
Fever fans at least weren’t complaining when Clark buried a game-winning 3-pointer to help secure a 78-76 win over the Washington Mystics on Monday. Clark had 19 points, five assists and three rebounds in the win.
The Fever have had a tumultuous start to the season, but are over .500 at 6-5. In 10 games, Clark has averaged 18.7 points, 8.7 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game.
Horry played in the NBA for 16 seasons. He began his career with the Houston Rockets, spending four and a half seasons with them and being a key part of their championship-winning teams in the 1993-94 and 1994-95 seasons. The Alabama native was then traded to the Phoenix Suns, where he spent half a season before signing with the Los Angeles Lakers.
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Robert Horry and Candice Horry pose on the blue carpet for the World Cup 2026 Kickoff Party at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on June 9, 2026. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
Horry was a key contributor during the Lakers’ three-peat from 1999-2001 and earned his third, fourth and fifth career NBA titles. After spending seven seasons with the Lakers, Horry joined the Spurs, where he won two more championships in 2004-05 and 2006-07.
In 16 seasons, Horry averaged 7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.
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