Teoscar Hernndez found his swing in time to save job, spark Dodgers walk-off win

It had been an eerily familiar story, with what the Dodgers were hoping would include an identical happy ending. Just like last year, Teoscar Hernández got off to a decent start at the plate this season.Then, just like last year, he suffered a lower-body injury that derailed his campaign and disrupted his swing mechanics.For much of July and August, the 33-year-old endured the same kind of struggles that plagued him throughout last summer’s slump, unable to consistently square the ball up or fight away breaking pitches on the outer part of the zone.As the second half progressed, and the start of the postseason neared, his role with the defending champions was once again being scrutinized –– with people both inside and out the organization beginning to wonder if he could really be trusted in a prominent everyday role.“I do kind of tend to give guys more leash given what they’ve done and looking at how they can handle a potential big moment in the postseason, that’s important,” manager Dave Roberts said while discussing Hernández this week. That is, the skipper added ominously, “until I can’t.”A week ago, it appeared the Dodgers were getting close to that point with their veteran left fielder.During a miserable two-month stretch since returning from a hamstring strain in late June, Hernández had hit only a shade above .200, posted an OPS that didn’t even crack .600, recorded strikeouts in nearly one-third of his at-bats and looked nothing like the playoff hero who was so crucial to the team’s back-to-back World Series titles the last two Octobers.It had gotten bad enough that Roberts was openly contemplating platooning Hernández during last week’s road trip.Hernández himself said he went up to Roberts recently and had a frank conversation about the state of his game.“I’m a player that, if I’m not doing what I’m supposed to do, and somebody else is doing the job and helping the team win –– I told Dave, ‘If you feel like yo...