MLB WORLD SERIES: YANKEES VS DODGERS

October 30, 2024

Teoscar Hernández

Yankee Stadium

Los Angeles Dodgers

Pregame 5 Press Conference

Q. Teoscar, what did you think of Cole in Game 1, and what are some of the adjustments you guys are looking at coming into tonight?

TEOSCAR HERNÁNDEZ: He's going to make adjustments from last start. He's not going to pitch the same. Obviously we know that. You just have to go there, see how he's pitching, see how his velo is, what pitch he's going to use the most, and you go from there. First at-bat, you go from there.

Q. Ryan Yarbrough is the only pitcher you've seen more than Gerrit Cole in your career. What makes him such a difficult at-bat? Is it the pitch sequencing? Is it the stuff? Is it something else?

TEOSCAR HERNÁNDEZ: With Cole, there's no question about his stuff, the way he pitches. He's one of the best because the stuff that he has and the way that he approaches every hitter, he's not an easy guy to go face. He's not going to give a lot of pitches to hit to anybody.

You just try to make the adjustment during the games and preparation before the game and just go execute it.

Q. Just considering how recently you guys saw him in Game 1, can you use that to your advantage or just that freshness when it comes to having seen it live to then preparing for it today?

TEOSCAR HERNÁNDEZ: When you face a pitcher and then you face him again for a second time, you have an idea how he might approach you. But just three days after we face him, it's not going to be that big of a difference. You just go there trying to get a good pitch and just do damage.

Q. For you personally, is there anything you've just been focusing on offensively at the moment?

TEOSCAR HERNÁNDEZ: Not really. Try to make the pitcher work, try to get on base. I'm not trying to be a hero. I'm just trying to make something happen and just go from there.

Q. Just looking at the play last night, Mookie going into the stands, how much do you guys worry about your safety playing here?

TEOSCAR HERNÁNDEZ: Yankee fans, they're really passionate with this team. They go hard on players. But I don't think there's nothing to worry about. I play here for six years against the Yankees, and I never see anything go wrong with the opposite team. So I don't think today is that case.

Q. As far as the fans getting banned from coming back to the World Series, is that something -- is that like reassuring? Does that sound like a good punishment?

TEOSCAR HERNÁNDEZ: Yeah, fans know they cannot do that, what that fan did last night. But like I say, they're really into it. They're big fans, and they care a lot for this team.

It happens, but unfortunately for him, he's going to be thinking about that play last night for a long time.

Q. Did you look at that as kind of a scary thing with him, where they grab his arm and stuff like that?

TEOSCAR HERNÁNDEZ: I've never seen anything like it, but now that I see pictures and videos and all that stuff, it's a little crazy that happens last night.

Q. You've played for, I guess, four teams now in your career, and you've been around a little while. What have you noticed makes the Dodgers different? What distinguishes the Dodgers? Obviously they've had the most success. What's different about the Dodgers than other places?

TEOSCAR HERNÁNDEZ: Just the unit. We're all together in this. Like I always say, that we do not think about individual stuff. We just go there, we get ready, we prepare ourself to get to the field and find a way to win that night.

I think that's why the Dodgers have been one of the best in the last 15 to 10 years.

Q. On the clubhouse culture point, how much does Mookie and Freddie and Shohei help set that? What is it about those three that allow them to have -- like three superstar players like that to kind of coexist and come together as well as they have this year?

TEOSCAR HERNÁNDEZ: For me, when you have three players like that, that they've been great, they've been one of the best in their position for a long time. And you see the way they talk, the way they act, the way they work, the way they prepare for every game, it's just amazing because they have no ego. They just think they're just one more player in the clubhouse, and they just go from there.

When you see guys like that, working like that and thinking like that, you get better as a player, and obviously you make yourself work a little harder just to be like them.

Q. In order to prevent letting New York get any more momentum in this series, how would you describe the urgency level for you and the rest of the guys to close this thing out tonight?

TEOSCAR HERNÁNDEZ: I don't think there's any urgency. We just have to go play our game and obviously stop them from getting that momentum that they want. And just trying to score runs early in the game and keep scoring in the game so we can keep playing the way we're playing and just try to win at the end of the day.

Q. What's your secret that you do so well against the Yankees? When you're with Toronto, you beat the hell out of them. Here you had three home runs earlier this year with the Dodgers. What's the secret?

TEOSCAR HERNÁNDEZ: I just try to do good every time I face a good team. I might get more focus. I might get more aggressive in terms of getting a good pitch and putting a good at-bat together just to try to help my team win and beat the team that we face that day.

Q. What's it been like playing for Dave Roberts, and what role has he played -- you had talked about having superstars on the team and blending it. What role has he played in creating that type of environment?

TEOSCAR HERNÁNDEZ: For me Dave is -- I played for four teams now, and Dave, I think, is one of the best managers that I have. Charlie was a great one too, Charlie Montoyo.

It's just the confidence that he gives to the players. He lets you play. He lets you be the player that you'll always be. He lets you have fun. His communication with his players we've seen is one of the best ones that I had in my career, and I think that's why he's so special for this team and the players.