Red Octobers: Turner belts 9th postseason HR
This browser does not support the video element.
WASHINGTON -- Justin Turner, the Dodgers’ Mr. October, provided their lone run in a 6-1 loss to the Nationals in Game 4 of the National League Division Series on Monday evening, homering off Max Scherzer in the first inning.
Scherzer made his first start of the series, coming off a three-up, three-down, three-strikeout inning of relief in Washington’s win at Dodger Stadium in Game 2. In Game 4 at Nationals Park, he retired the first two hitters routinely before Turner got into a high-and-tight fastball and skied it over the visitors’ bullpen for a 1-0 lead.
| Game | Date | Result | Highlights |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gm 1 | Oct. 3 | LAD 6, WSH 0 | Watch |
| Gm 2 | Oct. 4 | WSH 4, LAD 2 | Watch |
| Gm 3 | Oct. 6 | LAD 10, WSH 4 | Watch |
| Gm 4 | Oct. 7 | WSH 6, LAD 1 | Watch |
| Gm 5 | Oct. 9 | WSH 7, LAD 3 | Watch |
Shop for postseason gear: Scherzer settled in after that frame, though, en route to seven innings of one-run ball. The Dodgers put together a rally in the seventh inning by loading the bases with one out, but Scherzer got a strikeout and groundout to end the inning and his outing.
It was Turner’s second home run of the series and his ninth all-time in the postseason, all for the Dodgers. He’s one shy of tying Steve Garvey for the second-most postseason homers in Dodgers history and two shy of matching Duke Snider’s franchise-record 11.
Turner’s production -- he is 6-for-18 with four extra-base hits in the series -- is a welcome sign for a Dodgers team that worried about his health at the end of September. A bad back limited Turner to 11 plate appearances in the Dodgers’ final 18 regular-season games.
Turner's homer was his second off Scherzer in postseason play. He also connected off the right-hander in Game 1 of the 2016 NLDS, a two-run shot in the Dodgers’ 4-3 victory at Nationals Park.
Though Turner has gone deep twice off Scherzer in October baseball, the Dodgers haven't fared as well as a group. Scherzer lowered his career ERA vs. the Dodgers in the playoffs to 2.70, and he has struck out 22 batters in 20 innings.
This browser does not support the video element.
"You can't say enough about his compete," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Scherzer. "He just sort of wills his way to getting outs. And, obviously, in that first inning, we put up a run and with the homer, and from that point on he just, yeah, he minimizes damage. He punches a lot of guys, and yeah, I just can't see anybody better, really. And so I guess the one solace is we don't need to see him in Game 5."