Let’s face it, when you are in last place in your division riding a six-game losing streak and you beat the last place team from another division, there isn’t a whole lot to get excited about, right?

…or is there?

On Thursday, the Dodgers concluded a three-game series with the National League East last place Miami Marlins at Marlins Park, having lost the first two games of the series to give the Dodgers sole possession of last place in the NL West; albeit by a mere .005 percentage points, but last place is last place, right?

Judging by the comments on social media and having lost a brutal 6-5 heartbreaker the night before at the hands of troubled Dodgers reliever Pedro Baez (again), it was evident that Dodger fans weren’t very optimistic heading into Thursday series finale.

But then something unusual happened; two somethings, actually. The first is that the Dodgers actually scored first, and did so in a big way in the top of the third inning. The second is that they did so on a one-out, bases loaded, three run double by Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner, who was playing in only his third game of the season since returning from the disabled list for a fractured left wrist suffered when he was hit by a pitch during the final week of spring training.

Four days ago I cautioned fans not to have unreasonable expectations of Turner upon his return from the DL. I have never been happier to be more wrong about something in my Dodger fan life.
(Video capture courtesy of SportsNet LA)

That scoring first thing is (was) huge because, of their 16 wins heading into Thursday’s series finale with the Marlins, 14 had come when they scored first, and there is little doubt that this was on the minds of every Dodger player, manager and coach, not to mention on the minds of every Dodger fan on the planet.

But what’s even more incredible is that Turner wasn’t even supposed to be in Dodgers manager Dave Roberts’ lineup on Thursday morning, as they had planned to limit his playing time as he works his way back from his obviously painful injury.

Somehow the extremely popular 33-year-old Long Beach, California native and unofficial team captain managed to convince Roberts that he not only wanted to play on Thursday, but needed to play on Thursday, especially after going 3-for-9 in his first two games back with his struggling (now) last place team.

There is zero doubt that Turner also used the fact that there is a 100 percent probability of rain in our nation’s capital on Friday night and that a rainout is almost a certainty to convince Roberts to include his name on the Dodgers lineup card. But whatever tactic Turner used, it worked.

Man, did it work.

In addition to his three-run double in the third inning, JT also doubled in the fourth inning to drive in two additional runs. And for good measure, he also singled in the sixth inning before being replaced at third base my Max Muncy in the bottom of the sixth.

Since returning from the disabled list on Tuesday, Turner is now 6-for-13 (.462) with two doubles and five RBI. He has an on-base percentage of .462 and a slugging percentage of .615 for an alien-like OPS of 1.077. And while this sample size is small and these numbers will undoubtedly return to earth with each successive plate appearance, it’s the intangible and unquantifiable things that Turner brings to his team that gives cause to believe that the Dodgers days at or near the bottom of the NL West standings are numbered.

The other star in Thursday’s matinee series finale with the Marlins was Dodgers right-hander Kenta Maeda, who was absolutely brilliant in his eight … yes eight innings of work. The 30-year-old Senboku-gun, Japan native allow zero runs and only two hits, while walking none and striking out eight. In doing so, he is now 3-3 on the season and lowered his ERA to 3.89.

Dodgers right fielder Yasiel Puig slugged his third home run of the season and third in his last four games, suggesting that he is finally coming out of his season-long slump. The 27-year-old Cienfuegos, Cuba native also had several outstanding at-bats on the day, including a seven-pitch at-bat (and subsequent walk) in the third inning ahead of Turner’s bases-clearing double, and a 10-pitch at-bat in the top of the ninth that ended in a strikeout but was an outstanding at-bat nonetheless.

While a 7-0 pounding of a team with a near-identical last place record as your own may not be a very good barometer of how good or bad your team really is, it did one very important thing – it moved the Dodgers out of last place; again albeit by only .017 percentage points over the (once again) last place Padres.

It also brought to mind an age-old adage:

“When you’ve hit rock bottom, there’s only one way to go, and that’s up.”

Keep moving up, Dodgers.