The fifth inning for Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner on Monday night against the Baltimore Orioles can only be described as a disaster that eventually led to his ejection.
The game wasn’t going too well for Turner, as he was already 0-for-2 entering the top of the fifth inning with an error in the field under his belt.
But the Phillies faithful – known to be tough critics in the seats at Citizens Bank Park – didn’t help ease the nightmare Turner went through to start the top of the fifth inning.
What looked like a routine ground ball up the middle turned into Turner’s second error of the game, as he couldn’t handle it properly and slipped on the dirt while the ball trickled away.
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Turner, shaking his head at the error, was quickly showered with boos from the crowd.
Things got worse when he came to the plate with the game tied at one apiece in the bottom of the fifth. Turner was down 1-2 in his at-bat against Dean Kremer, when the latter tossed a sinker that looked to be just below the strike zone.
Home plate umpire Will Little thought it was a strike, though, following James McCann’s great frame at the bottom of the zone. However, that set Turner off when he was called out on strikes to end the inning with the go-ahead run stranded at second base.
Turner quickly turned to Little to speak his piece, and while he was tossing his hitting equipment toward the batboy near his dugout, Little threw him out of the game.
Turner was clearly baffled by the exchange, which prompted manager Rob Thomson to come out of the dugout to listen to the argument as well.
Turner hasn’t had the same success this season that he's seen in previous years. The shortstop is slashing .249/302/.390 with 20 doubles, four triples and 10 home runs over 410 at-bats, which leads MLB.
His last two seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Washington Nationals produced All-Star campaigns, hitting .328 to lead the league in 2021 and .298 last year with 49 home runs and 177 RBI combined.
Because of that, the 30-year-old signed a massive $300 million contract for the next 11 years to be in Philadelphia. Fans are hoping that Turner will continue to produce at his previous pace, though he is battling to get his numbers back up to it in the second half.
Monday night wasn’t the type of game Turner wants to put on, especially in front of his home crowd.
He’ll have the chance to bounce back against the Orioles Tuesday night at The Bank.
