On Tuesday, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts made a decision.

A day after Teoscar Hernández returned to the Dodgers’ lineup, activated from the injured list Monday following a two-week absence because of an adductor strain, Roberts decided to sit the veteran slugger for the second of a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

It was a surprise choice, but with a simple reason.

Knowing Hernández would play only twice this week coming off his injury, Roberts wanted to ensure he would be available Wednesday to face former Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes.

“I just felt like having him in there tomorrow,” Roberts said Tuesday, “I feel good with.”

Twenty-four hours later, the result was even greater than he expected.

In the Dodgers’ 3-1 rubber-match victory over the Diamondbacks, Hernández delivered the night’s biggest swing in the bottom of the sixth, taking a wrecking ball to what had been a flawless outing from Burnes with a three-run home run that turned the game upside down.

Entering the sixth, the Dodgers (31-19) had managed just one hit against Burnes, the four-time All-Star and 2021 Cy Young winner who had just blanked them over six innings at Chase Field two weekends ago. They were in danger of squandering their own strong start from right-hander Dustin May, whose only blemish in a six-inning, eight-strikeout outing came on a solo home run by Ketel Marte in the fourth. And they were staring down a potential series defeat to the Diamondbacks (26-24), one that would have further underscored the tight early-season battle they are facing in a competitive National League West.

“Obviously,” Hernández said, “we’re not playing the baseball that we know we can play.”

But on Wednesday, all they needed was one big inning to steal another win.

Miguel Rojas led off the inning with an infield single. Mookie Betts rolled another base hit through the left side to put two runners aboard. And with two out, up stepped Hernández, the second-year Dodger who has endeared himself in Los Angeles with his ability to produce clutch hits and game-changing moments.

“He relishes those spots,” Roberts said. “He’s really in the elite class of the ability to drive in runs.”

After a first-pitch ball, Burnes beat Hernández with his trademark cutter, dialing up the pitch for consecutive whiffs that put Hernández in a two-strike hole.

Hernández, however, didn’t panic, even though he later acknowledged he’s still working to get his feel for his swing back.

After his second empty hack, Hernández walked a lap around the hitting circle, called for a timeout and took a deep breath.

Dustin May gave up only one run in six innings.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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“I chased two out of the strike zone after the first pitch,” Hernández said, “so [I was] just trying to walk around, talking to myself. Stay calm and just try to hit the ball.”

When Hernández dug back in, Burnes fired a slider that didn’t have nearly enough break. The pitch stayed over the outer half. Hernández barreled it up with a one-handed finish. And as the ball sailed out to straightaway center, he admired it all the way, watching his 10th long ball of the season travel every bit of 413 feet.

“I think that was the only pitch that he missed all night,” Hernández quipped.

It was the only scoring the Dodgers did Wednesday, finishing the game with just five hits.

But between May’s solid start (which dropped his ERA to 4.09), a four-out relief appearance from Lou Trivino (a recent minor league signing called into action with the Dodgers woefully short on right-handed relief options), and a bounceback save from closer Tanner Scott (who gave up two home runs in Tuesday’s come-from-behind win), it proved to be just enough — Hernández’s well-timed day off resulting in an even better-timed home run.

“It worked out that way, yeah,” Roberts laughed postgame. “It was certainly helpful for him to hit a three-run homer.”

• A video has surfaced showing an inmate assault in an Arizona prison, raising concerns about systemic issues within the facility.
• Critics of prison administration say the video highlights a lack of staff intervention and inadequate supervision.
• The Arizona Department of Corrections is investigating the incident, saying it was isolated despite acknowledging a recent increase in prison violence.

A video showing inmates using locks as weapons during an attack inside an Arizona prison is not the only of its kind, according to a prison reform advocate and a corrections union leader.

Both said the footage reflects deeper, systemic failures that prison officials have ignored.

The nearly three-minute cell phone video, posted online May 14, shows a bloodied inmate being chased and beaten by two others swinging padlocks tied to straps.

The attack moves from an interior dormitory space to an outdoor area at the Winchester Unit at Arizona State Prison Complex–Tucson. At no point do correctional staff appear on screen.

“This was not a ‘one-off,’” said Carlos Garcia, executive director of the Arizona Correctional Peace Officers Association.

The association has discovered multiple videos of “illegal conduct with little or no staff intervention,” Garcia said in a statement.

Administrators who work for Corrections Director Ryan Thornell “have relinquished control to the inmate population,” Garcia said.

Donna Hamm, founder and director of Middle Ground Prison Reform, which watchdogs Arizona’s prison system, echoed Garcia’s concerns in an email to The Arizona Republic. She said there is little supervision in the prisons.

“In many cases of inmate-on-inmate assault, no staff will intervene,” she said. “They simply don’t want to get hurt themselves, and the inmates usually far outnumber the staff.”

She also said that open dorms have poor visibility and limited camera coverage, and that an “override” classification system has allowed high-risk inmates to be placed in lower-security housing.

The Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry released a statement on May 20 saying the attack occurred on May 14 and that the department became aware of the video a day after it was posted online.

The statement said the fight was under investigation and that people involved, including the one in possession of a cell phone, would “be held accountable.”

While the department described the attack as an “isolated incident,” the statement said there had been a “recent spike in violence among the inmate population.”

As the department “continues the challenging work of corrections statewide, we are increasing our calls for better support for our staff, including funding for higher pay and better retention, recognizing the critical public safety and high-risk work officers manage each day,” the statement said.

No inmates suffered serious injuries, the department’s statement said. The bloodied man was treated at a hospital and returned to the prison the same day, it said.

The department did not describe the nature of the man’s injuries or define what it considered “serious.”

The department’s Incident Command System, which is tasked with dealing with these kinds of incidents, was activated that same day, the statement said.

The department did not say when staff began responding to the assault. The video shows no signs of intervention.

The department warned that public speculation by “third-party persons” created “intentional obstructions” to safety and diverted resources from its mission.

Hamm argued the department was downplaying the incident.

She said Thornell needed to focus on security and safety, including staff recruitment and training.

“The public doesn’t seem to understand that prisoners far outnumber the guards and that guards actually use prisoners (and need them) for cooperation and even for safety-related issues,” she wrote.

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes says her office is demanding answers after reported failures and disruptions at the Social Security Administration.

In a letter dated Tuesday, the attorney general asked for steps to be taken to address a service crisis reported by seniors, people with disabilities, and low-income residents in Arizona. According to state officials, the AG’s office has received hundreds of reports related to delayed payments, wrongful benefit suspensions, and an inability to reach the office by phone or in person.

“The Social Security Administration is failing the very people it was created to serve,” said Mayes. “From lost payments to seven-hour hold times to field offices turning away walk-ins, the stories we’ve heard from Arizonans are heartbreaking — and completely unacceptable. The Trump administration has an obligation to deliver these benefits promptly, and right now it is not meeting those obligations.”

The AG’s office is calling out Elon Musk, who led the Department of Government Efficiency and claimed that Social Security is “riddled” with fraud, despite the SSA’s Inspector General stating less than 1% of payments over a seven-year period were improper.

“Arizonans deserve a Social Security Administration that works — not one hollowed out by misinformation, mismanagement, and neglect,” said Mayes. “I urge the Trump administration to act now and restore lawful, accessible, and appropriate service for the people of Arizona.”

Mayes’ actions come after Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a fellow Democrat, also called out the new anti-fraud checks following a report from NextGov, a news publication that covers technology within the federal government, found only two out of 110,000 were potentially fraudulent.

Last month, CNN reported that the Social Security Administration was pushing back the rollout of the new measure.

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