By now every Dodger fan on the planet is well aware that Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez is mired in a horrible slump – so bad, in fact, that he is hitting a paltry .152 (5 for 33) since September 1 and has seen his season average drop from .302 on June 28 to .275 heading into tonight’s game.

But AGon isn’t the only Dodger slumping right now, and if there is one guy who the team can ill afford to have slumping with only 22 games remaining, it is Dodgers default third baseman Justin Turner.

It’s no secret that Turner has the best continuous batting average in the MLB over the past two seasons – .310 to be exact. But since returning from the disabled list on August 13 for a very serious MRSA (staph) infection, the extremely popular redhead is 15 for 88 (.170) with two home runs and eight RBIs – none of either in September. And although the 30-year-old Long Beach native has walked 11 times since his return from the DL, he has struck out 17 times, which is very un-Justin Turner-like.

Since August 13 Justin Turner has had 88 at-bats. He has struck out in 17 of them.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

After Friday night’s disastrous 12-4 loss to the third place Arizona Diamondbacks, the Dodgers find themselves 7.5 games in front of the second place Giants with a magic number of 15. And while this may seem like a rather comfortable lead, history has shown us – especially Dodgers history – that no lead is too big. And with both Gonzalez and Turner – their two most reliable hitters – struggling right now, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly (and Dodger fans) have cause for concern – not necessarily about winning the division, but more importantly about heading into the postseason with their two best hitters sputtering right now.

Although there is little doubt that both Gonzalez and Turner will eventually come out of their funk, the big question is whether or not they will do so before the playoffs begin – before it’s too late.