A reinvigorated Turner lifts Phillies over Royals

A reinvigorated Turner lifts Phillies over Royals originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

This time, the standing ovation for Trea Turner was spontaneous and genuine.

One evening after a contrived show of emotion ginned up by sports talk radio and fanned by social media to show support for the expensive free agent shortstop in the throes of an epic slump, Turner stepped to the plate in the bottom of the sixth Saturday night with a chance to demonstrate his gratitude in the best possible way.

The Phillies had squandered early scoring opportunities, then frittered away a lead against the last-place Royals. A here-we-go-again sense of unease began to seep into the atmosphere.

Then Bryce Harper rocketed a two-run homer to deep left-center in the fifth to bring the Phillies back within a run. Which set the stage for Turner’s big moment an inning later, facing lefthander Tucker Davidson with runners on first and second and nobody out.

Davidson’s first pitch was a sinker that stayed up on the inside part of the plate. Turner didn’t miss it, driving the ball deep into the lefty field stands.

The sellout crowd of 42,326 exploded, rose as if yanked out of their Citizens Bank Park seats by an invisible force. The cheering continued as he rounded the bases, followed him into the dugout and didn’t stop until he popped back out to acknowledge the reception with a wave and a tip of his batting helmet.

He then put a bow on the proceedings with an RBI double in the eighth to top of the 9-6 victory that ended Kansas City’s winning streak at seven.

It was his first home run in 21 games and his first with more than one RBI since June 25.

Said Turner: “It felt good. It felt like what I’m used to,” said Turner, a career .302 hitter coming in to the season who is hitting .238 this year. “The swings are good, the at bats are good and it was a fun game all around.

“Curtain calls are special. I enjoy watching teammates do it, not necessarily being the guy. But it means you did something big in a big moment, so it was fun.”

Initially, there was some skepticism that the idea of giving him standing ovations to improve his morale would translate into more production on the field. Now the possibility that it might have had an impact is being taken a little more seriously.

“Mentally it just gives you reassurance that they have your back, like I’ve been talking about,” Turner said. “I feel like things are going in the right direction.”

Of course, there have been moments previously this season when Turner appeared poised to turn himself around – a homer against the Diamondbacks, two against the Tigers – that fizzled.

“It feels like it could be, but you’ve got to show up every day,” he said. “It’s a hard game. You play every day. I take pride in that so try to do it all again tomorrow and keep competing. Try to control what you can control. Try to keep this thing going and get us some wins.

“I focus on what’s in front of me. Can’t change the past. Future’s not here yet. So worry about today.”

Said manager Rob Thomson: “That was really something,” said manager Rob Thomson. “I’m just so happy for him. Maybe this whole thing has loosened him up a little bit. Let him just be Trea Turner and do his thing. I always feel (that he’s about to break out) so I’m hoping that’s the way it is.”

Turner’s drama might night have been necessary had the Phillies not squandered big scoring opportunities in the first an d third innings and if Cristopher Sanchez, called up in May to be the fifth started, had had his first real hiccup since then.

After giving up a leadoff triple to Samad Taylor leading off the fifth, the play on which Brandon Marsh suffered a knee contusion, he walked Drew Waters, gave up a bunt hit to Dairon Blanco and a single by Maikel Garcia. Thrown in a couple stolen bases by Garcia and he had given up four runs before recording his first out.

“I think he just, for whatever reason, lost his command and started getting the ball up,” Thomson said.

Said Sanchez, through translator Diego Ettedgui: “They made the right adjustments at the right time. Honestly, my pitches weren’t working well for me in that inning. They made the adjustments and I paid the price. They were putting good swings on the ball and when that happens, you get results like that.”

On the night of July 25, against the Orioles, batting out of his usual seventh spot in the order, Alec Bohm had a pretty good night at the plate. He doubled his first time up. Then, in the bottom of the ninth, he singled home the winning run to give the Phils a walk-off win.

The next night, with little fanfare, he was moved to the clean-up spot. It was just the eighth time this season he was in one of the top spots in the lineup.

Since that game against the O’s, Bohm has been on a tear. Going into play Saturday night, he was hitting .390 (16-for-41) with a 1.018 OPS in those 10 games. As a result, he’s continued to climb in the order. He batted second for the sixth straight game against the Royals Saturday night.

“I think it’s a little bit of everything,” said manager Rob Thomson. “He’s swinging at good pitches. He’s not chasing. He’s using the whole field and basically taking what the pitcher is giving him.

“For me, the No. 2 guy is a combination of a combination of on base (percentage and slugging percentage, a.k.a. OPS). He doesn’t hit that many home runs and he doesn’t walk very much, but he can hit. And right now he’s getting on base. Right now he’s getting on base more than anybody.”

In fact, Saturday night he homered in the first, walked in the third, singled in the fifth and scored three runs.

Bryce Harper singled, double and homered Saturday night. He’s reached base in 13 straight games.

Royals RHP Zack Greinke (1-11, 5.32) vs. RHP Taijuan Walker (12-4, 3.99) Sunday at 1:35 p.m.