The Los Angeles Dodgers finished the regular season on a seven-game winning streak and tied a franchise record with 106 victories, but they did not clinch a ninth consecutive National League West title as the San Francisco Giants bested them by one game in the standings.
The Dodgers are now set to face the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Wild Card Game on Wednesday, with first pitch set for 5:10 p.m. PT at Dodger Stadium. It marks L.A.’s first appearance in the one-game playoff, which was introduced during the 2012 season.
While elimination games can be stressful, Trea Turner is thankful for the opportunity to return to the postseason and help the Dodgers defend their World Series title.
“I don’t know about scary. It’s fun,” Turner answered when asked if he is concerned with playing in the Wild Card Game. “It’s a Game7. It’s about perspective. I think if anybody asked if you want to play one playoff game to continue to try to win a World Series, you’d take it.
“It’s so hard to get to the postseason, it’s hard to stay healthy, there’s a lot of good teams out there. I think just getting to the postseason is underrated.
“So if you told us we’d be here at the beginning of the year, I think we would be pretty happy — or I would be pretty happy. I know we wanted to win the division, but I’d be pretty happy. We got a chance to win a ring, and that’s all that matters.”
As Turner noted, there are a lot of things that have to go right in order for a team to reach the postseason. Having already won a World Series with the Washington Nationals, he will look to continue providing a spark at the top of the Dodgers’ lineup in October.
Turner batted .458/.480/.917 with eight runs scored, two doubles, three home runs, 11 RBI and one stolen base in his final six games of the regular season en route to being named NL Player of the Week for Sept. 27-Oct. 3.
Turner also won the NL batting title after hitting .328 across 148 games with the Nationals and Dodgers this season.
Turner believes NL batting title a byproduct of ‘consistency’
After winning the NL batting crown, Turner attributed it to his ability to stay on the field. “For me, it’s consistency, which I pride myself on showing up every day,” Turner said.
“You’ve got to qualify for certain awards and have a certain amount of at-bats, so it’s hard to win some things if you’re not out there on the field.
“That’s part of preparing and being lucky. It’s been a good season from a health standpoint. Any time you can win anything in this league, it’s special. So it’s pretty cool and I’m proud of it.”
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