The Los Angeles Dodgers closed out the regular season on a seven-game winning streak and with that made franchise history by reaching 106 wins. It broke the record held by the 1953 Brooklyn team that won 105 games; the previous L.A. franchise record was 104, set in 2017.
That season the Dodgers were propelled by a historic 43-7 stretch. This year’s team never won more than seven games in a row; doing so from May 29-June 4 and Sept. 22-29. Their strong finish to the season was despite being without Justin Turner for the final five games.
He experienced back tightness during the San Diego Padres series and after initially being expected to return over the weekend, was ultimately ruled out.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has continued to downplay any concern over the nagging injury, and Turner voiced confidence he will be prepared for the start of the National League Division Series on Thursday, as seen SportsNet LA:
“I feel good. I’m getting better and totally plan on being in there on Thursday and will do whatever needs to be done to do that.”
Along with missing time because of the back trouble, Turner additionally sat out a stretch of games because of a sprained left ankle. “I couldn’t really figure out what happened, how it happened, why it was bothering me,” he said upon returning from the sprained ankle.
“Stuff takes time. It’s feeling good now, though, so that’s what’s important.”
In both cases Turner asserted he would have been in the lineup if it were the postseason or had the games had more of an impact on the standings. For some players going a period of time without logging at-bats in a game could be cause for concern ahead of the postseason.
Roberts identified Turner as being an exception, and noted he continued to swing a bat in the cage and during batting practice. Furthermore, the club intends to have Turner participate in a simulated game during an NLDS workout at Dodger Stadium.
The 34-year-old finished the season batting .290/.372/.509 with 24 doubles, 27 home runs and 67 RBI in 135 games. His 10 home runs during August set a career high for most in a calendar month.