Justin Turner came out of the gate swinging, with his five RBI leading the Los Angeles Dodgers over the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 1 of the National League Division Series. Turner tied Davey Lopes (1978 World Series) and Pedro Guerrero (1981 World Series) for the franchise postseason record of most RBI in a single game.
Turner’s three-run home run in the first inning provided Clayton Kershaw with an early lead. His RBI singles — in the fourth and eighth innings — helped proved to be the difference as the Diamondbacks clobbered Kershaw for four solo home runs.
“J.T. is as clutch as they come and put a great swing on a ball,” Kershaw said postgame of Turner’s home run. “There’s just not a weakness when he hits. That’s probably the biggest thing.
“Just looking at him from a pitcher standpoint, I don’t really know where you can throw a fastball in the strike zone to get him out. Then he stays on breaking balls so much and coupled that with not leaving the zone, I mean, it’s a very tough at-bat for your pitcher. You know, it almost amplifies in the playoffs. He just seems to get that much more locked in.”
Turner is batting .383/.493/.667 with six doubles, one triple, three home runs and 17 RBI in 19 career postseason games. He’s hitting .475/.571/.825 through 13 NLDS games. Turner’s batting average in the DS is highest in MLB history among players with a minimum of 20 at-bats.
“It’s innate. I think that it’s innate. It can be learned, I guess, through experience, but J.T. just has that pose for that big moment and not do too much,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.
“So when a pitcher does make mistakes, he just has a way to capitalize and doesn’t go out of the strike zone. He just has a way of hitting that big moment, whether it’s hitting a homer or hitting the ball the other way to drive in a run, he just conducts a professional at-bat in big spots.”
Turner, one of the leaders in the clubhouse, credited Chis Taylor and Corey Seager for reaching safely and putting pressure on Taijuan Walker. “When you get in those situations and they’ve got to make pitches, you just try to — not try to do too much and make sure you get a good pitch,” Turner said.
While it was Turner’s bat that the Dodgers needed in their Game 1 win, his mindset is on “doing whatever it takes to win a ballgame.” It was a message Turner delivered to his teammates, along with imploring them to enjoy the moment, when they gathered around the mound at the conclusion of a final workout before the NLDS began.
