It’s hard to argue that Kiké Hernandez‘s game-winning run on what easily should have been the second out of the bottom of the 11th inning on Wednesday night against the Texas Rangers ranks right up there as one of – if not the – most exciting wins of the 2018 season thus far. It’s also hard to argue that the benches-clearing brawl (so to speak) in the bottom half of the third inning didn’t add significantly to the excitement of the Dodgers eventual 3-2 walk-off win.

Even though it was of his own doing by not allowing a pathway to the plate for Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp, Rangers catcher Robinson Chirinos took exception to the fact that Kemp legitimately (and literally) ran over him.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

But something else happened during Wednesday night’s win that now has the Dodgers 2.5 games behind the National League West division-leading Arizona Diamondbacks that was equally exciting for Dodger fans – or at least should have been – that pretty much remained under the radar in the grand scheme of things.

With one out in the bottom of the first inning, Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner, who had been out of the Dodgers lineup for four consecutive days prior to Tuesday night’s brief two-game series opener against the Rangers due to soreness in his recently healed fractured left wrist, deposited Rangers left-hander Cole Hamels‘ third pitch of the game into the Left Field Pavilion of Dodger Stadium to give the Dodgers an early 1-0 lead in what would eventually be a three-hour and 49 minute / 11-inning affair.

Even though Turner’s first-inning home run off of Rangers left-hander Cole Hamels wasn’t a towering majestic shot that the Dodgers are famous for hitting, his line drive shot just over the left field wall at Dodger Stadium is a very good sign. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Why was Turner’s home run a big deal, you ask?

Because, in addition to being only his second home run since returning from his injury after missing the first 40 games of the 2018 season, it suggests that the extremely popular 33-year-old Long Beach, California native (whom the Dodgers absolutely stole from the New York Mets on February 6, 2014 when they declined to re-sign him as a free agent) is getting closer to being 100 percent healthy … and we all know what a healthy Justin Turner means to the Dodgers.

“Could he play today? Yes. Is his wrist getting better? Absolutely,” Dodgers manager Roberts told reporters prior to Sunday’s series finale against the Atlanta Braves. “But I think for us, having an off-day [on Monday], having him available to hit today, not push it to gain that equity we’ve built in the last couple days, right now – where we’re at – it just doesn’t make sense.”

On Saturday, Roberts had said that Turner would start on Sunday. But early Sunday morning the popular bearded redhead told him that his wrist was still sore.

“Logic says that if there’s some soreness in there and you crank it up and you get going and you take a hundred swings and you play in a game, it’s probably not going to get better,” said Roberts. “So that residual soreness, I’m betting on taking [Sunday off] and another day, with the [Monday] off-day, that it’ll dissipate come Tuesday.”

Dissipate it did.

In Tuesday’s contest with the Rangers, Turner went 2-for-5 with a double and a run scored, and in Wednesday’s thriller he went 1-for-5 with the home run (and RBI) and a walk.

Although there will undoubtedly continue to be some soreness in Turner’s left wrist, Wednesday’s under-the-radar line drive home run is a good sign for Dodger fans.

…because we all know what a healthy Justin Turner means to the Dodgers.