While the Los Angeles Dodgers have shuffled players all over the diamond and relied on platoons, one constant has been Justin Turner since he returned from a fractured left wrist suffered during Spring Training.
Turner missed another brief stretch due to a groin strain but has been in the lineup on essentially an everyday basis since being activated back on Aug. 2. He carried the Dodgers into September, earning National League Player of the Month honors for August.
In addition his steady production at the plate, Turner has been equally reliant at third base. However, there’s been a recent drop off as he’s uncharacteristically committed five errors in the past five games.
Two of those came in Friday’s 5-3 loss to the San Diego Padres. Turner was unable to make a backhanded stop at third base in the ninth inning, which allowed the Padres to load the bases without the ball leaving the infield.
Wil Myers promptly hit a two-run double that wound up proving to be the difference when the Dodgers scored a run in the bottom of the ninth. Naturally, Turner, one of the clubhouse leaders, put the loss on himself, as seen on SportsNet LA:
“This one got away from us partially because of me. I’ll take full responsibility for it. Can’t give teams extra outs. Doesn’t matter who they are. If you give teams extra outs, you’re not going to win a lot of games. … I just haven’t made some plays the last couple of days. There’s no excuse for it. I just need to do a better job.”
Turner’s first error in the series opener against the Padres came with two outs in the second inning and was of the throwing variety. It allowed San Diego to have their first baserunner of the game, though nothing came of it.
While he has not and would not use it as an excuse, it stands to reason Turner may be feeling the effects of being hit by a pitch on his left wrist/forearm during the series with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Turner’s first of the aforementioned five errors came in the ensuing game after he was hit. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said there was lingering soreness, though Turner has remained in the lineup every game since.
