LOS ANGELES — Teoscar Hernández looked to be amid one of his hottest stretches as a Los Angeles Dodger. Then, he reached for his left hamstring as he ran down the line trying to beat out a groundball in the second inning of Wednesday night’s game against the Colorado Rockies.
The Dodgers quickly announced that Hernández had a strained left hamstring. The two-time All-Star’s reaction told the entire story.
After crossing the bag, Hernández immediately grabbed at his hamstring, taking a long stroll back to the dugout at Dodger Stadium. Once there, he grabbed his helmet and hit it against the equipment rack.
Hyeseong Kim took Hernández’s place in left field to start the third inning.
Teoscar Hernàndez came close to slamming his helmet in the dugout in frustration after pulling up lame running to first base. Grabbed his hamstring immediately before heading down the tunnel with head trainer Thomas Albert. Not great. #Dodgers
— Katie Woo (@katiejwoo) May 28, 2026
It’s a frustrating development for Hernández, who has been resurgent in May with an .892 OPS and an ear-to-ear grin that has been typical over his three-year tenure in Los Angeles. It’s an even more startling development for a Dodgers team that just lost Kiké Hernández for at least six to eight weeks with a “significant tear” of his left oblique.
Teoscar Hernández missed time in 2025 with a strained left groin and said in spring training that he played the rest of the way guarding the injury. That coincided with one of the worst stretches of his Dodgers tenure (a .672 OPS the rest of the season) at the plate and lackluster defense in right field.
“I wasn’t moving the way I know I can move,” he said this spring.
Should Hernández need to miss time, the Dodgers have options.
Alex Call could slot into left field and continue his strong start. He entered play Wednesday with a .792 OPS, including a .417 on-base percentage, in spot playing time. Kim has also played some outfield.
Ryan Ward is on the 40-man roster and made a brief debut last month. Tyler Fitzgerald was already looming as a possibility as the Dodgers discussed how to fill out their roster this week, and he has played some corner outfield at Triple-A Oklahoma City. The club also has Alek Thomas, who was acquired via trade this month with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Thomas is on the 40-man roster, though he has spent the time since the trade working on swing tweaks at the Dodgers’ spring complex in Arizona.
The Dodgers also have prospect James Tibbs III, who entered Wednesday with a 1.028 OPS and 12 home runs for Oklahoma City.