Justin Turner was among the several players who wore a look of disappointment and shock as he trudged around the visitors clubhouse after the Los Angeles Dodgers were eliminated by the San Diego Padres in Game 4 of the National League Division Series.
The Dodgers set a franchise record with 111 wins during the regular season, which included taking 14 of 19 from the Padres, but saw their year come to an unceremonious end by losing three consecutive games.
“Whatever happens in the regular season doesn’t matter,” Turner said. “It doesn’t matter if you win 111 games, it doesn’t matter if you win 88 games. You get in the playoffs, in a short series it’s about winning three games. They accomplished that.”
With the Dodgers among the teams that clinched a top-two record in the league among division winners and thus earned a bye in the Wild Card round, only to lose their first playoff series, it’s sparked debate over the layoff potentially having been detrimental.
“I mean, you could point your fingers to whatever you want,” Turner said. “The bottom line is we didn’t get the job done and got beat.
“The playoffs in baseball are tough. The tournament is tough. Going through a short series, a five-game series, it’s always a flip of the coin. It’s whoever gets the big hits, and they got the big hits. In baseball, winning a championship is hard. We didn’t accomplish our goal.”
The Dodgers particularly struggled with runners in scoring position. At one point they were mired in an 0-for-20 skid in such situations, which was their longest drought in postseason history.
It ended on Freddie Freeman’s two-run double in the third inning of Game 4.
“The whole series I think we did a really good job of setting the table,” Turner noted. “We just never really got the big hit. Freddie doubled early in the game to drive in two runs. Felt that maybe it was the hit that would break it open for us, but it just didn’t happen.”
Justin Turner contract details
The Dodgers hold a $16 million team option ($2 million buyout) on Turner’s contract for the 2023 season. They won’t need to make a decision on Turner’s future until five days after the 2022 World Series concludes.
As the Dodgers began what they envisioned being a deep postseason run, Turner said his contractual status was not a concern.
“That’s a long ways away,” Turner said before Game 1. “There’s one thing in mind, and that’s winning a baseball game tonight. Whatever happens after that, it will all work itself out. That’s not important right now.”
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