The Los Angeles Dodgers had a desperate need for starting pitching at the trade deadline this past season and addressed it by acquiring Max Scherzer. While that alone was a significant boon, Trea Turner being included in the blockbuster was notable in its own right.
Turner provided a speed dynamic to the Dodgers lineup that it hadn’t featured for several years, and that was on full display when he scored from first base on an infield single. The DodgerBlue.com staff ranked it No. 9 on the list of best Dodgers plays from the 2021 season.
In the final game of the Freeway Series, Turner was on first base after drawing a one-out walk in the second inning. He’d previously doubled and scored on Max Muncy’s single into center field
With AJ Pollock at the plate in the second inning, Turner showed off his patented speed and scored from first base when a chopper went off David Fletcher’s glove and rolled into shallow left-center field.
Turner was running on the pitch and stopped briefly upon arriving at second base, before then breaking into another full sprint to go head-first into home plate. That extended the Dodgers’ lead to three runs and they went on for an 8-2 victory.
As for Turner, had another viral moment in his MVP-worthy season two days later with a smooth slide into home and quick pop up to his feet.
Trea Turner Speed pic.twitter.com/e7ntVPBj1O
— Mad Choriyama (@MadChoriyama) August 8, 2021
“I’ve been doing that a long time. It’s just how I slide, I guess,” Turner said at the time. “I try to not hit the ground very hard, because it usually doesn’t feel great.
“So I try to be as soft as I can on slides, whether it’s head-first or feet-first, and I try to obviously avoid tags. It’s just how I’ve slid basically my whole life.”
Top Dodgers plays from 2021
No. 9: Trea Turner scores from first base on infield single
No. 10: Justin Turner, World Series ring ceremony
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