They were playing against the team they had to eliminate, against their greatest rival and in front of hostile fans.
All legitimate reasons why the Dodgers were suddenly playing with more intensity and enthusiasm in San Francisco the past two games.
There is, though, another factor that was easy to gloss over after Clayton Kershaw’s brilliant one-hitter in Tuesday night’s division-clinching victory.
The return of Enrique Hernandez.
Hernandez has been a growing presence for the Dodgers as the season developed, going from utility man who played occasionally to someone who had essentially supplanted first-half phenom Joc Pederson as the everyday center fielder.