In a dramatic finish at Dodger Stadium, Teoscar Hernández delivered a walk-off double that propelled the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 3-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on September 3, 2026. This win not only saved the Dodgers from what would have been a third consecutive loss but also showcased Hernández's clutch hitting ability in a high-pressure situation.
The Cardinals struck first in the contest, taking an early lead against Dodgers starter Tarik Skubal. After two singles put runners on base, Joshua Báez connected with a single that brought home José Fermín, giving St. Louis a 1-0 advantage. Skubal managed to navigate through the second inning without allowing further damage, recording two strikeouts while leaving two runners stranded.
However, the Cardinals extended their lead in the third inning. Following two-out singles from Leo Bernal and Ramón Urías, Iván Herrera crossed the plate, doubling the Cardinals' lead to 2-0. Skubal found his rhythm in the subsequent innings, but the Cardinals kept applying pressure, and after allowing two more runners in the sixth, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts opted to pull Skubal after 5 2/3 innings. The left-hander had allowed ten hits—tying his career high for hits surrendered in a start—but did not give up any extra-base hits until Jordan Walker's double in the seventh.
The Dodgers, who struggled with runners in scoring position in their previous game, faced similar challenges throughout the early innings against rookie pitcher Quinn Mathews. Despite getting runners on base in the first, third, and fifth innings, the Dodgers could only manage a single run in the fifth, which came via a wild pitch that allowed Tommy Edman to score.
As the game progressed, the Dodgers faced a critical moment in the eighth inning when they loaded the bases against reliever George Soriano. However, Soriano struck out Dalton Rushing to escape the jam, leaving the Dodgers with a dismal .038 batting average with runners in scoring position over their last two games.
In the bottom of the ninth, the Dodgers found themselves trailing 2-1 when Edman, facing his former team, hit a single to put the tying run on base. Mookie Betts followed with a walk, setting the stage for Hernández. On the seventh pitch of his at-bat against Cardinals pitcher Riley O’Brien, Hernández delivered a powerful sinker into the left-center field gap, scoring both Edman and Betts and securing the walk-off victory. This marked the Dodgers' sixth walk-off win of the season, highlighting their resilience in tight games.
The victory puts the Dodgers and the Atlanta Braves four games behind the Milwaukee Brewers in the race for the best record in the National League, with the Braves holding the tiebreaker after a recent sweep of the Dodgers. The Dodgers will look to build on this momentum as they continue their homestand with a three-game series against the Washington Nationals starting Friday night.
In terms of pitching performance, Brock Stewart earned the win for the Dodgers, throwing two-thirds of an inning without allowing a hit, while Riley O’Brien took the loss for the Cardinals after giving up two earned runs in just one-third of an inning.
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