The Los Angeles Dodgers suffered a disappointing series sweep at the hands of the Pittsburgh Pirates, but Trea Turner remained among the team’s bright spots as his hitting streak is an MLB-best 24 games entering play Thursday.
Turner previously had a 27-game hitting streak this season before it was snapped in a contest against the Cincinnati Reds on April 17.
“Yeah, I start getting asked about it every day,” Turner answered when asked if the hitting streak has crossed his mind. “Eventually it goes away. I go 0-fer and it’s not talked about for a while. It’s just a cycle.
“It happened earlier this year, but I don’t care. It’s going to end eventually. Like I’ve said before, it’s a lot of luck with spacing out the hits perfectly. You could go 4-for-4 one night and 0-for-4 the next day and it’s over.
“It’s just luck, but it feels good to contribute each and every day.”
Turner believes his ability to put together long hitting streaks stems in part from being fleet of foot. “I think it’s a speed thing,” he explained.
“It’s not necessarily me being Mookie Betts or Freddie Freeman. Getting those infield singles and bloop hits are kind of what keeps it rolling.”
Turner is one of only two Dodgers — the other being Freddie Freeman — to start in all 50 games this season. He is batting .298/.357/.461 with 12 doubles, two triples, five home runs and 41 RBI over 213 plate appearances.
Turner approaching L.A. Dodgers franchise record
Willie Davis has the longest hitting streak in L.A. Dodgers franchise history at 33 games, which he set during the 1969 season. Only Andre Ethier (30 games) was between Turner and Davis for the longest Dodgers hitting streaks since 1958.
Duke Snider (1953) and Joe Medwick (1942) both strung together 27-game hitting streaks during their respective careers with Brooklyn.
Paul Lo Duca (2003), Steve Sax (1986) and Davis (1971) each had 25-game hitting streaks with L.A.
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