The Los Angeles Dodgers failed to find their offense on Sunday in a 2-0 loss that also capped off a series sweep for the San Francisco Giants, and with questions of ‘urgency’ already being a topic, Trea Turner not scoring in the eighth inning raised some eyebrows.
Turner singled with one out and following a deep fly out by Will Smith, Justin Turner dropped a base hit into right field. Mike Yastrzemski missed the ball on his attempt at a diving catch, which created a scoring opportunity for one of the fastest players in Major League Baseball.
However, Trea Turner only made it to third base on the play, and both runners were ultimately stranded. It appeared that Turner didn’t get a good jump and said because the play was happening behind him, he couldn’t get a great read, via SportsNet LA:
“I mean, my run is not really that important. If I get thrown out at home plate right there, we’r talking about a little bit different thing. I ran. I don’t know why this is a question, but I ran until my third base coach held me up. … I don’t know what happened. I ran, someone dived for it and I didn’t know if he knocked it down or not. Ran to third hard and was waiting for Dino to waive me. The ball was behind me, so I don’t know.”
Replay showed Turner looking over his right shoulder while getting to second base. That would run counterintuitive to the philosophy of running on contact with two outs, but it’s also possible he was monitoring to see if Yastrzemski would have a play at third base, where historically the first and third outs should never be made.
The Dodgers left nine on base and went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position in their shutout loss.
Turner has posted a 130 wRC+ and a .353 wOBA in 60 games thus far, but acknowledged the team needs to have a more aggressive approach to overcome their collective lull.
Dave Roberts: Dodgers need change in mindset
The Dodgers are in the midst of their first prolonged slump of the 2022 season, which has reduced their lead in the National League West to just a half-game ahead of the San Diego Padres.
While they have dealt with some key injuries, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts attributed the slump to the club straying away from a mindset of doing whatever it takes to win and focusing on what’s best for the team rather than on individual performances.
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