Turner's cheesy HR makes LA 1st to 10 wins

LOS ANGELES -- With the way the Dodgers’ lineup has been hitting the ball so far this season, fans need to make sure to protect all their belongings if they’re sitting in the new “Home Run” seats at Dodger Stadium.

That includes your nachos.

In the Dodgers’ 4-2 win over the Rockies on Wednesday at Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles third baseman Justin Turner hit a deep drive to left-center field off Jon Gray in the third inning that barely cleared the fence to extend the lead.

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The fan that was sitting in the front row in the outfield made an attempt to catch the ball in the air. His technique appeared to be solid, going in with both hands and keeping his eye locked in on the ball. It was such a solid effort that the umpires reviewed the home run just to make sure the fan didn’t interfere in the field of play.

But while the attempt was impressive, the ball was still able to split his arms, landing right on his ballpark nachos, creating a hot mess. The ball was covered in nacho cheese, and the fan's green jacket was effectively ruined as the melted cheese dripped all over it. That didn’t stop his fun, however, with the fan pumping up the crowd as he was shown on the video board.

The fan, or “Nacho Man,” was later interviewed on SportsNet LA, where he was presented with a complimentary World Series hoodie and noted that he had been sent a new order of nachos. He added that “word on the street” was that Turner was behind the latter. Turner confirmed that it was him who replaced the nachos.

“I saw it kinda splatter up and when they went to look at it and showed the replay, I saw that it was nachos,” Turner said. “I felt bad. I’m sure it wasn’t a two-dollar tray of nachos, so I wanted to replace it for the guy.”

While it’s safe to say this was the messiest -- and cheesiest -- homer of Turner’s career, the veteran is enjoying an exceptional start to the season. Turner came into the season with just three career home runs in the month of April. He has flipped the script in 2021, launching his team-leading third homer of the month on Wednesday.

“I think it’s just a law of averages,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “April hasn’t been good for Justin as far as slug, but he was due to slug a little bit in April. I’m happy that it’s here in 2021. He looks really good at the plate, taking good at-bats and doing what he does.”

Turner was noticeably slimmer in Spring Training after following the Whole30 diet with his wife, Kourtney. Turner said the diet helped him recover more quickly, and he didn’t feel the weight loss affected his power at the plate. That has been confirmed in the team’s first 12 games. With a 2-for-4 night on Wednesday, Turner leads the team with a .390 average and a 1.166 OPS.

“I just feel good. I’m comfortable,” Turner said. “I’m not trying to hit a bunch of homers. I’m just trying to take good at-bats and hit balls hard somewhere. A couple of them have gone over the fence already. That’s nice.”

It was “nacho” average night at Dodger Stadium, but Turner and the Dodgers extended their winning streak to five games and became the first team in the Majors to win 10 games. That’s exactly where they expected to be.

“I know Justin will trade a homer for buying a guy some nachos,” Roberts said, with a smile. “We can always replace nachos.”