BLUE JAYS – JUSTIN TURNER BREAKS OUT OF WORST HITTING SLUMP OF HIS CAREER
It’s no secret that the Toronto Blue Jays are currently ranked as one of the worst offensive teams in the league. The club has struggled to get production from some of their key bats so far this season while collectively, the team owns a .669 OPS – ranked at #25 in the big leagues.
The lack of offensive production has been a sore spot for Jays fans and nobody is feeling the pressure more right now than Justin Turner, the club’s go-to designated hitter after signing a one-year deal with Toronto this past offseason. Turner was the lone offensive-minded signing this past winter, with the front office putting a lot of faith in the internal bats returning to form compared to sourcing out external options to drive production at the plate.
Out of the gate, Turner was arguably the hottest hitter in the Blue Jays lineup. The veteran right-handed bat owned a .298/.376/.511 slash line with four home runs, eight doubles, and 15 RBIs through 94 at-bats before the calendar turned over into May. Turner was near the top of pretty much every offensive statistical category for the Jays by the end of April and owned a .887 OPS to go along with his .333 BAbip in his first campaign North of the border.
Justin Turner breaks hitless streak with a double off Crochet
While Turner mustered three hits through his first four contests in May, the former Dodgers, Mets, and Red Sox infielder was riding an 0 for 29 streak dating back to May 7th, stretching across eight games. He was putting the ball in play, evidenced by producing just three strikeouts, but the veteran bat was struggling to find an area where the opposing team wasn’t positioned. On top of these struggles, Turner was also battling a sickness off the field that swept through the Jays clubhouse and kept him on the shelf for a few games as well through the past couple of weeks.
Returning to the Rogers Centre to face the Chicago White Sox, Turner carried that hitless streak through the first game on Monday and into today’s contest as well, grounding out in his first at-bat against southpaw Garrett Crochet. With the hitless streak extended to 30 at-bats, Turner stepped to the plate in the fifth inning and after grinding to a 2-1 count, he finally got one in the hit column.
Crochet came back inside on Turner with a 92.7 MPH cutter and the right-handed bat drove the offering high and deep to left field, with the ball landing just shy of the top of the fence for a standup double. The ball came off the bat at 93.8 MPH and broke Crochet’s perfect game bid, as the left-hander had stymied the Blue Jays bats early.
He would muster just the one hit in the 5-0 loss to the White Sox but Turner, who is known for his ability to put the ball in play, can officially put his career-worst hitless streak behind him and look ahead to the future, with the team needing him to find his bat again amongst a scuffling Blue Jays squad that now sits at 21-26 on the season.
Want more articles like this? Follow Bluejaysnation on MSN to see more of our exclusive MLB content.
More must-reads:
- Tigers' Reese Olson has received no support despite brilliant 2024 start
- Checking in on the Padres' decision to not re-sign Josh Hader
- The 'No. 1 overall pick in the MLB Draft' quiz
Trending slideshow: Which MLB players have the most career games played? (Provided by Yardbarker)