Teoscar Hernandez will miss roughly a month of action after straining his left hamstring, a significant blow to the Los Angeles Dodgers at the midpoint of the season.
According to The Sporting News, Hernandez received a Grade 1 diagnosis on the injury. The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya reported that Hernandez himself called the grade one finding the "best-case scenario" for his strained left hamstring and said he is estimated to miss about a month.
Hernandez had been one of the more productive hitters in the Dodgers lineup before going down. Through 204 plate appearances this season, he was slashing .276/.348/.436 with seven home runs and 31 RBIs. His absence leaves a noticeable gap in a roster that has otherwise performed well in the early months of the season.
Los Angeles entered the weekend with a 37-20 record, the best mark in the National League West and second best in all of baseball. The team has received strong contributions from Shohei Ohtani on both sides of the game and from first baseman Freddie Freeman. Outfielder Kyle Tucker, acquired in the offseason, has also been a steady presence. Hernandez had been adding to that production before the hamstring issue surfaced earlier in the week.
The Dodgers played their first game without any possibility of Hernandez appearing Saturday night, when they faced the Philadelphia Phillies in a series they were looking to win.
The Dodgers are currently defending their World Series title. Losing Hernandez for a month puts pressure on other contributors to maintain the team's pace through June.
