Brewers @ Dodgers June 18, 2016: Justin Turner heating up

The Dodgers are coming off an extra-inning victory, thanks in large part to Justin Turner and his heroics — something that has been missing for a vast majority of the season.

Brewers
Dodgers
7:10 p.m. PT
Los Angeles
SS
Villar
CF Pederson
2B
Gennett
 SS Seager
LF
Braun
3B
Turner
C
Lucory
1B
Gonzalez
1B
Carter
RF
Thompson
3B
Hill
2B
Kendrick
CF
Nieuwenhuis C Grandal
RF
Flores
LF
Hernandez
P
Anderson (R)
P
Bolsinger (R)

Turner has really turned it on of late. He’s hitting .407/.433/.815 in his last seven games. It’s a small sample for sure, but for his and the Dodgers’ sake, here’s hoping he’s breaking out of his season-long slump.

This is from Jon Weisman at Dodger Insider:

“It’s been two weeks since Dave Roberts offered his diagnosis of what was holding back Justin Turner’s offense.

‘When I know Justin is at his best, (it’s) when he’s elevating to the pull side,” Roberts said. “For me, right now there’s too many balls in the air the other way. The contact point’s a little deep, (and) he might be getting underneath the baseball a little bit.

‘When you’re not getting hits, it’s kind of a natural move to try to see the ball longer. It’s just a natural move to back the baseball up a little bit … but sometimes it can be a little bit counter-productive.'”

Joc Pederson is atop the Dodgers’ lineup for the first time since Sept. 14. Chase Utley is getting the night off, and boy does he need it. While his season numbers are plenty acceptable for a leadoff hitter (especially one who is 37 years old) — .261/.353/.392 — he’s hitting just .175/.268/.238 since his fateful 2-HR game in New York against the Mets.

Hyun-jin Ryu had a rehab start for Rancho Cucamonga last night …

… and

Here’s hoping for no setbacks this time.

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About Dustin Nosler

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Dustin Nosler began writing about the Dodgers in July 2009 at his blog, Feelin' Kinda Blue. He co-hosted a weekly podcast with Jared Massey called Dugout Blues. He was a contributor/editor at The Hardball Times and True Blue LA. He graduated from California State University, Sacramento, with his bachelor’s degree in journalism and a minor in digital media. While at CSUS, he worked for the student-run newspaper The State Hornet for three years, culminating with a 1-year term as editor-in-chief. He resides in Stockton, Calif.