Trea Turner had a rough close to the 2022 regular season but ended it on a high note with a home run in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ final game that he believed could serve as a springboard.
Whether or not that would hold true was put on pause, however, as the Dodgers went five days between playing. Turner immediately announced his presence in the National League Division Series with a home run in the bottom of the first inning.
The homer was Turner’s second in the postseason and first with the Dodgers. He went on to finish 2-for-4 and had a first career postseason game with multiple extra-base hits.
“I feel like this year my body has felt as good as it has in a long time,” Turner said after the Dodgers’ 5-3 win over the San Diego Padres.
“Last few years and years past you play banged up, but this year has been pretty good. So I felt pretty good body-wise. But having a few days off, I think mentally and physically just helps a little bit and helps you hit the reset button real quick and then get right back to it. I feel good.”
In addition to feeling healthy, Turner has captured the feel he’d been looking for at the plate.
“I think a lot of it was timing. I thought I was on time, and I wasn’t. And then when I’m late, I try to make up for it,” Turner explained. “A lot of bad habits.
“Just being earlier and on time cleans up a lot of things. Just keep talking it over with the hitting coaches and some of my teammates and whatnot, and I think it just kind of comes down to time, and that’s kind of the small adjustment I’ve made the last six at-bats or so, along with some other things.
“I think it’s mostly just being on time for 95-plus (mph) and adjusting to everything else.”
Turner’s production helped offset Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman going a combined 0-for-7 in the Game 1 win. The trio more times than not has powered the Dodgers lineup, with Will Smith making it a vaunted foursome.
Smith also had two hits and an RBI in the Dodgers’ win.
Gavin Lux, Trea Turner combine for key double play
With the Padres threatening to cut into their deficit, Gavin Lux and Turner combined for an inning-ending double play that helped Evan Phillips escape the sixth unscathed.
“It’s a tough one. He has to kind of make that 360. I’m coming across the bag, so he has to make a good throw to me as well,” Turner said of Lux.
“A lot has to go right to make that play. He is a good infielder and puts his work in every day early. He is athletic enough to make those plays too. It was a good play by him, and we got the job done.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts referred to it as the “play of the game.”
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