It doesn’t happen often. In fact, it happened only 10 times during the entire 2018 regular season when Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner committed an error in 266 total chances for a fielding percentage (FPCT) of .962. When you consider that six-time (consecutive) National League Gold Glove-winning Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado posted a .967 FPCT in 2018, you immediately realize that Turner’s .962 FPCT is very good at baseball’s so-called “hot corner.”

Unfortunately, the normally reliable and extremely popular Dodgers third baseman committed an error during Saturday night’s game against the Washington Nationals in front of 53,647 at Dodger Stadium that turned a 2-0 Dodgers lead into an eventual 5-2 Dodgers loss.

Ironically, those two Dodgers runs came on a third-inning two-run home run by Turner, a towering 400-footer that just cleared the wall in straightaway center field. And even though Saturday’s game will forever be remembered by the grand slam home run by perennial Dodgers pain-in-the-neck Gerardo Parra coughed up by Dodgers left-hander Dylan Floro, hidden in the box score is Turner’s costly throwing error on what should have been an around-the-horn 5-4-3 double play that would have made it two outs with a runner at third instead of loading the bases.

Turner’s error, coupled with an all-too-familiar disastrous relief outing by Dodgers right-hander Pedro Baez (who left the game having given up a leadoff single to Nationals shortstop Wilmer Difo, a fielder’s choice to pinch-hitter Howie Kendrick on the Turner error, a sacrifice bunt by Nationals right fielder Adam Eaton, and a walk to Nats center fielder Victor Robles) loaded the bases with one out.

Baez was replaced by Dodgers left-hander Scott Alexander, who immediately gave up an RBI single to Nationals left-fielder Juan Soto, the only batter he would face, to make it a 2-1 ballgame. Floro came in and immediately struck out always-dangerous Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon for the second out of the seemingly-endless eighth inning and giving Dodger fans a ray of hope.

That ray of hope immediately vanished when Floro, on a 2-2 count, threw a 95-mph fastball to Parra that was ‘right down Broadway’ (as they say), which the National’s first baseman absolutely crushed for a 413-foot grand slam home run to right-center field to make it 5-2 Nats.

Game over.

The real victim of Saturday’s devastating loss was 24-year-old Dodgers right-hander Walker Buehler, who was absolutely brilliant in his 7.0 innings of work. All the 24-year-old Lexington, Kentucky native and Dodgers 2015 first-round draft pick did was allow no runs and only four hits, with one walk and seven strikeouts. In fact, at one point Buehler retired 18 of 19 Nationals batters.

But as they say, “It is what it is.”

Play Ball!

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