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Tide Turner: LA’s 3B shining in postseason
- Updated: October 12, 2016
LOS ANGELES — The last time Daniel Murphy spent much time with Justin Turner, the latter was a 28-year-old Mets utility infielder, known as much for his clubhouse DJ duties — “Swaggy” was his nickname — as for his bat. When he cracked the lineup, Turner hit fifth or sixth. He had never been much more than that, nor did he seem destined to be.
When Turner took the field last week in Washington for the start of a five-game National League Division Series that the Nationals and Dodgers will decide in Game 5 on Thursday (8 p.m. ET/5 PT, FS1), Murphy saw something entirely different. Turner had developed into the heart of the Dodgers’ still-here-in-spite-of-everything lineup, a player reborn and — though the sample is brief — an early candidate for one of the better postseason hitters of this decade.
Game Date Time Matchup TV/Highlights Gm 1 Oct. 7 LAD 4, WAS 3 Gm 2 Oct. 9 WSH 5, LAD 2 Gm 3 Oct. 10 WAS 8, LAD 3 Gm 4 Oct. 11 LAD 6, WAS 5 Gm 5 Oct. 13 8 p.m. LAD @ WSH FS1 All times listed ET • Division Series start time scenarios • Dodgers vs. Nationals NLDS coverageShop for postseason gear: Dodgers | Nationals
“He should be hitting third for a playoff team,” said Murphy, Turner’s teammate from 2010-13 in New York. “He had a monster year.”
Over 151 games for the Dodgers, by far his most as a professional, Turner hit .275 with a career-high 27 homers, swapping out some of the contact that made him a useful bench player in New York for pure, brute, right-handed power. This …
