J-Hey's day: Pinch-hit HR helps Dodgers win a thriller

LOS ANGELES -- With an assortment of players returning from the injured list in recent weeks and Mookie Betts moving from shortstop back to right field, Jason Heyward has become something of an odd man out for the Dodgers. Manager Dave Roberts has noted that starts for the veteran outfielder would be more occasional from this point forward.

Heyward showed just what an asset he can be off the bench on Tuesday night, hitting a tiebreaking three-run home run in the eighth inning of the Dodgers’ 6-3 win over the Mariners at Dodger Stadium.

"I just truly believe the game honors you, and the game honored him tonight,” Roberts said of Heyward. “He does things the right way, he was ready when called upon, and he came up with a huge hit. Shoot, that was probably the highlight for me of the season thus far."

Trailing for most of the game, the Dodgers clawed back to knot things up in the seventh. With two on and two out in the eighth and the Mariners' closer, right-hander Andrés Mu?oz on the mound, Roberts opted to send up the left-handed-hitting Heyward to pinch-hit for Kiké Hernández.

The fireballing Mu?oz offered Heyward straight heat. Heyward fouled off a 99.7 mph four-seamer for strike one. Fastballs at 98 and 98.9 mph made it a 2-1 count.

Then, 99.2 mph up in the zone. Heyward swung and drove it just over the low wall in right field, scoring Will Smith and Max Muncy and putting the Dodgers ahead for good.

"That was a nice at-bat,” said Heyward. “ … Nice swing at the first pitch [for Mu?oz] to get ahead. Nice couple takes, and nice job of just being ready for another one somewhere near the zone to put a good swing on.”

? Lux's HR clears the wall -- only to roll back UNDER the fence?

Heyward has enjoyed a decent amount of pinch-hitting success, both in his career and this season. On June 18 against the Rockies at Coors Field, he came off the bench to hit a grand slam. He is now 19-for-70 (.271) with three homers as a pinch-hitter in his 15 years in the Majors.

The key, according to Heyward, is to not overthink things, “because you don’t have a lot of time.”

"That's kind of the name of it, is just go up there, trust your approach, and if it comes through, amazing,” said Heyward. “If it doesn't, go up there and see if there's anything else you can tweak the next time -- but still not overthinking it."

It’s been an up-and-down year for Heyward, who has seen his OPS climb as high as .844 on June 19 before dropping to .658 entering Tuesday’s game. His season has been interrupted twice by IL stints; he missed a month and a half with lower back tightness early on, then was out for another couple of weeks in July with a a left knee bone bruise. Since being activated from the IL on July 21, Heyward had batted just .204 with a .569 OPS in 20 games.

That’s not the kind of performance the Dodgers are looking for as they fight to claim their 11th National League West division title in the past 12 seasons, a race that’s grown increasingly tight over the last month.

And the roster crunch isn’t done for Los Angeles. Utility man Chris Taylor is due to return from a left groin strain sometime in the next week, and Roberts has made it clear that the club will operate with 13 positions players and 13 pitchers up until rosters expand to 28 players in September. That means someone is going to have to be removed from the active roster soon -- and options are limited at this point. Meaning Heyward could, once again, be the odd one out when it comes time for the tough decision to be made.

"Years like this one, when a team is going for it and they want to be all-in, I think they always have to put their best foot forward and whatever happens, happens, and that's a part of it,” said Heyward. “But I think personally, it's pretty cool to be No. 23 for this club, to hit a couple majestic, No. 23-type homers. … A pinch-hit grand slam and a pinch-hit three-run homer for our guys to come through was pretty special."