ATLANTA — The Philadelphia Phillies won Game 1 of the NLDS over the Braves in large part because of one of the greatest defensive plays in franchise history, a double play started on a diving stop and flip by shortstop Trea Turner.
It would be a stretch to say Turner’s defense cost the Phillies Game 2, but a pair of defensive miscues Monday evening were more indicative of what was an extremely frustrating season in the field for the $300 million shortstop. And the second error unquestionably contributed to a crushing 5-4 loss.
The only baserunner that Phillies starter Zack Wheeler allowed in the first five innings came on what should have been a routine ground ball by Braves slugger Matt Olson to lead off the bottom of the second inning, that instead ate Turner up.
“Yeah, the first one just got stuck a little bit and I didn’t kill the hop, like we talk about with [infield coach] Bobby [Dickerson] a lot,” Turner said.
In the grand scheme of things, the first error didn’t affect the outcome in any way. After Turner’s error, Wheeler retired 14 consecutive batters. For most the evening, it felt like nothing would get to Wheeler, who was in the midst of an outing that would have made Roy Halladay or Cliff Lee proud.
However, Wheeler walked Acuña with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Ozzie Albies then lined a ball into right field, allowing Acuña to advance to third base. Turner attempted to field the relay from Nick Castellanos in right field, and come up prepared for Acuña to go home. Had he fielded it cleanly, Acuña likely would have stayed at third base. If not, Turner likely would have thrown Acuña out at home plate.
Instead, the ball kicked off of Turner’s glove, and Acuña scored Atlanta’s first run of the series, giving life to a record-setting crowd at Truist Park.
“With the other one, I knew Acuña was gonna be running hard and looking for that play exactly,” Turner said. “I tried going to cut it off once I saw Nick throw it. [I knew] it was gonna hit the dirt. I thought it was gonna bounce a little bit higher than it did. It kind of skidded on me, and I didn’t come up with it.
“So I was kind of prepared for him to keep running, but didn’t make the play obviously.”
It still took two-run home runs from Travis d’Arnaud and Austin Riley, an insane catch by Michael Harris II and a questionable baserunning decision by Bryce Harper for the Braves to storm back and win Game 2. But Turner’s second error of the night did appear to be something of a turning point in the game, and perhaps the series as a whole.
The two errors were also a reminder of what was a disastrous season for Turner defensively. Turner finished the regular season with 23 errors, -10 defensive runs saved and -3 outs above average. In September, we wondered whether despite a Gold Glove-caliber season at second base from Bryson Stott, if the two middle infielders for the Phillies would need to swap positions sooner rather than later. Monday night’s performance will only reignite said conversation.
It would be one thing if Turner hadn’t made the game-saving play in the series-opener, or if he hadn’t flipped it quickly enough to turn a double play. Turner’s play in Game 1 was a legitimately great play, and a reminder that he’s more than capable of playing shortstop from an athleticism standpoint. But the two errors in Game 2 were simple plays that a replacement level shortstop — and perhaps even worse — makes with ease. And for as impressive as Turner has been offensively since early-August, he’s continued struggling to make routine plays in the field.
For now, though, Turner is the shortstop. Rob Thomson isn’t going to pencil Stott or Edmundo in as the starting shortstop in Game 3. And Turner is hitting .375 this postseason, the Phillies absolutely need his bat in the lineup. They’ll have to hope that what Turner does at the plate and on the basepaths outpaces any shortcomings he has defensively.
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