LOS ANGELES — The 2021 postseason has been fairly unconventional so far for Justin Turner, who sat out Game 2 of the National League Championship Series with a neck stinger. It marked the first time since 2014 — a span of 77 consecutive games — that Turner wasn’t in the starting lineup for a Dodgers playoff game.
The injury, which made it difficult for Turner to turn his head to the right, ruled him out from playing defense on Sunday. He was available to pinch-hit, which he did in the seventh inning and got hit by a pitch.
On that front, at least, things should return to normal for Turner and the Dodgers on Tuesday, as he is expected to be back in the Dodgers’ lineup for Game 3 against the Braves at Dodger Stadium, with Los Angeles down in the series, 2-0.
“Justin is here [at Dodger Stadium], getting treatment as we speak,” Roberts said during Monday’s off-day workout. “I don’t anticipate him doing much baseball activity. But he feels better than did he yesterday, and so my expectation is he’ll be in the lineup tomorrow.”
The other way this postseason has been unusual for Turner is marked by his slow start. In the seven games he’s started, he’s gone 3-for-28 (.107), with just one extra-base hit (though it was a big one — a game-tying homer in the NL Wild Card Game).
Those struggles run counter to Turner’s past October performances. In 72 games across the Dodgers’ past seven playoff runs, Turner has slashed .295/.392/.507, his 11 home runs setting the franchise record for most postseason homers. His Wild Card Game homer increased that total to 12.
Although Turner didn’t spend any time on the injured list this season, he’s dealt with a handful of ailments. A groin injury sustained in August caused him to miss four games. The all-time Dodgers franchise hit-by-pitch leader, Turner has also been hit by 14 pitches in the regular season and postseason combined, most recently taking one off the left elbow on Sunday. Add in the neck stinger, and it’s fair to say Turner has not been at 100 percent for much of the past few months.
“I think that with all that he’s gone through, it certainly hasn’t been easy, and it’s been certainly a grind,” Roberts said. “But I think that he’s just so mentally tough to kind of get through it all to be present and to put his best foot forth in a particular game.”
Buehler feeling good
Coming off his first career appearance on short rest, Walker Buehler said he has responded well and is in good physical shape heading into his Tuesday start.
“He’s feeling great,” Roberts said. “He’s got the extra rest, and he’s out there throwing right now and he feels great. He’ll be ready to go.”
In Game 4 of the NL Division Series against the Giants, Buehler, pitching on three days’ rest, threw 71 pitches in 4 1/3 innings of one-run ball. It was a shorter-than-average outing for Buehler, but it was an effective enough performance to help Los Angeles stave off elimination.
As it turns out though, pitching on short rest isn’t the only thing Buehler’s dealt with recently. The right-hander revealed on Monday that he “got a little sick” while the team was still in San Francisco for the NLDS. Buehler chose not to disclose the nature of the illness, saying only that it didn’t prevent him from flying with the team to Atlanta.
That malady evidently behind him, Buehler enters Tuesday’s start on six days’ rest. In a limited sample size of four starts this year on six or more days of rest, Buehler had a 2.88 ERA and averaged just more than six innings per start. The Dodgers certainly hope he’ll be able to provide them with comparable length, as they relied heavily on their bullpen in Games 1 and 2, with another bullpen game in the cards for either Game 4 or a potential Game 5.
“[We’ve] kind of got our backs against the wall, and hopefully [I] can get us deep into it and get us a victory here at home,” Buehler said.
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