Trea Turner responded to a day off on Wednesday with two consecutive dominating performances at the plate.
The Philadelphia Phillies would love for more of the same from Turner on Saturday when they play the third contest of the four-game series against the visiting Washington Nationals.
Turner went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs in Philadelphia’s 13-3 romp over Washington on Thursday. He followed that up by capping a four-hit performance with a walk-off RBI single in the ninth inning of a 3-2 win on Friday.
“I think he just relaxed a little bit,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said of Turner benefiting from his day off. “You don’t have to think about anything, you do some extra hitting in the cage, you work on some mechanical things. Just kind of clear your head (on the off day).”
Turner agreed.
“Yeah, I got a chance to hit quite a bit on that day off and figure some things out,” Turner told NBC Sports Philadelphia.
The National League East-leading Phillies appear to have figured some things out as well. They’ve answered a four-game skid by winning three in a row. They’ve also won seven of their eight meetings against the Nationals this season.
Washington provided a scare by rallying for two runs in the top of the ninth before being undone by Turner’s heroics.
“Obviously, we couldn’t get the job done tonight,” Nationals outfielder James Wood said, per the Washington Post. “But it was a good fight we put up in the ninth. We’re never out of the game.”
Wood collected three hits on Friday. He is batting .391 (27-for-69) with 14 RBIs and 16 runs in his last 19 games.
Philadelphia’s Cristopher Sanchez (8-8, 3.63 ERA) will look to rebound from a disastrous start on Saturday when he opposes Washington’s MacKenzie Gore (7-10, 4.50) in a battle of left-handers.
Sanchez fell to 1-4 in his last five outings since the All-Star break after getting thumped in his last trip to the mound. He allowed seven runs on a career-high 12 hits in 4 2/3 innings of a 12-5 setback to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday.
Sanchez, 27, is 1-2 with a 4.50 ERA in nine career appearances (six starts) against the Nationals. He faced Washington on two occasions this season, taking the loss after yielding three runs in 4 1/3 innings on April 7 before settling for a no-decision after yielding two runs in seven frames on May 18.
Like Sanchez, Gore has seen better days. He fell to 1-5 in his last 10 games after allowing five runs — all unearned — on five many hits in four innings of a 6-4 setback to the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday.
Gore, 25, is 1-3 with a 5.35 ERA in seven career appearances (six starts) versus Philadelphia. He picked up the win after allowing two runs in 5 2/3 innings of a 3-2 victory on April 7 before settling for a no-decision despite permitting two runs in 6 1/3 innings on May 18.
–Field Level Media