SUPPORT » Enrique Hernandez is ready to build on his breakout se

GLENDALE Eric Hosmer Jersey , Ariz. (AP) — ason last year for the Los Angeles Dodgers.After five years in the big leagues, the late-blooming utility player is coming off his best campaign, setting career highs in hits (103), RBI (52), home runs (21), and walks (50). During offseason workouts at Dodger Stadium with returning hitting strategist Brant Brown and new hitting coach Robert Van Scoyoc, Hernandez made adjustments to more efficiently and prominently use his lower half, building momentum into spring training.On Wednesday night, he hit a three-run homer against the White Sox to improve his spring training home run total to a team-leading three. Through Wednesday, his 11 RBIs were tied for third in all of MLB spring training; his .750 slugging percentage was fourth, and his .375 batting average tied for fifth.While spring training statistics do not count, they can increase momentum and build confidence.“I’m seeing the ball pretty good, getting some results here and there, so the year is going pretty well so far,” Hernandez said.Listed generously at 5-foot-11, the 192-pounders’ commitment to strength and conditioning have helped him make significant strides 10 years into a pro career that began in 2009, when the Houston Astros selected him in the sixth round of the amateur draft out of American Military Academy in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico.The son of a Pittsburgh Pirates scout who also served as his coach, Hernandez, then 17, dominated his native Puerto Rico and challenged himself by playing travel ball internationally in Venezuela and the Dominican Republic.At age 21, he broke into double digits in home runs with 13. The following year, 2014, at the Triple-A level, he began to play multiple positions.“I grew up playing shortstop, and I believe that if you can play shortstop, you can play anywhere,” Hernandez said. “I also played a little bit of second base for a year or two, but mostly shortstop, and then it wasn’t until Triple-A that I started playing everywhere Jose Pirela Jersey , by necessity.”That fielding versatility in 2014, led to his major league debut on July 1. At the end of the month, he was traded to the Marlins. A few months later, on Dec. 11, he was dealt to the Dodgers, along with catcher Austin Barnes, among others.In a growing era of versatility, Hernandez is among the most versatile. He played six positions in 2015 and 2016, seven in 2017 and eight last season.“There’s the skill set part of it, where as a baseball player he has a lot of confidence that no matter where we put him, he feels like he’s the best option,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Anywhere he would play, I think he has that potential to be an elite defender. But just for us how it has been, we’ve moved him around the diamond to give runways for other people. But also, there’s just a confidence he has with the glove. “Last season, Hernandez played 63 games in center field, 41 at second base, 22 at shortstop, 19 in right field, 18 in left field, nine at third base, eight at first base and his MLB pitching debut, in which he entered a tied, extra-inning game, and surrendered a three-run home run.Embracing his versatility, Hernandez calls himself “super utility for the Los Angeles Dodgers” on his Instagram and Twitter accounts.He is popular among fans for his cancer research fund-raising efforts, broad communication skills — he speaks fluently in English and Spanish — and “every man size”.In the clubhouse, he radiates positivity, sharing a wry wit with teammates.When he steps into the batters’ box, he’s stone-cold serious with Popeye-style power.“He’s very strong Kevin Kiermaier Jersey ,” Roberts said. “And the more he stays in the strike zone, the production and the power will be there.”Like many of his teammates, Hernandez’ offensive production fizzled in the 2018 postseason. He hit .167 against Atlanta in the NLDS, .071 versus Milwaukee in the NLCS, including eight strikeouts, and .133 in the World Series loss to the Red Sox with four strikeouts.That experience fuels his fast spring training start.Looking no further for motivation, he said, “I’m in the big leagues, that’s good enough motivation, and obviously, I’m motivated by winning.” ATLANTA (AP) — Miles Mikolas has been unbeatable this season when the St. Louis Cardinals score him a couple of runs.He’s 16-0 when getting at least two runs of support, a big asset for the Cardinals as they stay in the postseason hunt.“I’ve been fortunate enough that when I’ve pitched, we’ve had great offense and we’ve put up runs and played great defense and everything has just come together,” Mikolas said. “It’s been a great season.”Kolten Wong hit the first of four St. Louis homers, Mikolas won his third straight start and the Cardinals beat the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves 11-6 on Monday night to give their playoff push another boost.St. Louis has 35 victories since the All-Star break, most in the National League, and has won two straight after losing four in a row. The Cardinals, who also got homers from Paul DeJong, Harrison Bader and Yadier Molina, are a half-game ahead of Colorado for the second NL wild card.The Braves took a third consecutive loss after winning a season-best six straight games. They remained 6½ games up in the division following Philadelphia’s loss to the Mets, which reduced Atlanta’s magic number to seven as the Braves try to clinch their first NL East title in five years.Mike Foltynewicz (11-10) walked three of the first five batters he faced — one intentionally — and hit Yadier Molina with a pitch before Wong’s opposite-field, two-run single gave St. Louis a 3-0 lead in the first.Atlanta pitchers have issued 32 walks over the last four games, all at home, where they are 38-37 and have dropped 13 of their last 17.“It just goes down to early on — the walks, the walks, the walks — they all score,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “That’s the big thing.”Mikolas (16-4) allowed four hits, two runs and one walk while striking out six in five innings. The right-hander, who leads the NL in fewest walks per nine innings, improved to 9-0 in 15 road starts.“They fouled off some good pitches Alex Cobb Jersey , but we played great defense, and I was able to get out of the jams when I was in a sticky situation,” he said.After Freddie Freeman’s 22nd homer made it a one-run game in the third, the Cardinals went up 4-2 in the fourth on Wong’s ninth homer and 6-2 in the fifth on DeJong’s 18th homer and Marcell Ozuna’s RBI double. St. Louis improved to an NL-best 40-19 when hitting a road homer.Foltynewicz allowed five hits, six runs and four walks with two strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings. Coming off a complete-game victory at San Francisco, Foltynewicz had gone 4-2 with a 1.84 ERA in his last eight starts, but he couldn’t overcome a lack of control.Nick Markakis drove in a run with his NL-leading 42nd double, coming against Dakota Hudson in the seventh, to pull the Braves to 6-5. But then Jesse Biddle gave up a pair of two-out walks in the eighth, and Bader, a defensive replacement in the seventh, hit a three-run homer to put St. Louis up 9-5.The Braves had a chance to do more damage in the bottom of the inning against Carlos Martinez after Ronald Acuna Jr.’s RBI single cut the lead to 9-6, but Martinez struck out Freeman with the bases loaded.Freeman slammed his bat down in disgust.“Big moment, obviously, bases loaded and a three-run game at that moment,” St. Louis manager Mike Shildt said. “He made a money pitch.”Molina hit his 18th homer, a two-run shot off Arodys Vizcaino, in the ninth.BAD MOVESCardinals CF Yairo Munoz made two errors in the sixth that let Atlanta cut the lead to 6-4. He dropped the ball after picking up Ender Inciarte’s single, allowing Inciarte to advance to second and Johan Camargo to third. Munoz made a throwing error to third on Tyler Flowers‘ single, allowing both runners to score.TRAINER’S ROOMCardinals: Shildt said RHP Bud Norris wasn’t available because of irritated skin on his right middle finger. Norris left Sunday night’s win over the Dodgers after walking the only batter he faced.Braves: Camargo, the team’s everyday third baseman, went 1 for 5 in his return to the lineup after missing the past four games with left groin tightness.UP NEXTCardinals: LHP Austin Gomber (5-1, 3.78 ERA) will make his first career start against Atlanta on Tuesday. Gomber allowed seven runs and nine hits in his last start, lasting three innings in a 9-7 loss to the Dodgers.Braves: RHP Anibal Sanchez (6-5, 3.01 ERA) seeks his first victory since Aug. 3, a span of eight starts in which he’s 1-1 with a 3.02 ERA.