Dodgers speedster Trea Turner has turned heads recently with a series of nifty pop-up slides that left baseball fans in awe -- but things didn't go as smoothly for the All-Star on Thursday night against the Mets.
Turner had a pair of stolen-base attempts in the Dodgers' 4-1 victory in Los Angeles, one of which backfired spectacularly on his patented feet-first slide, and another that appeared to leave him in pain and bickering with Mets infielder Jonathan Villar.
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In the bottom of the third inning, Turner appeared to have taken second base on a delayed steal against the Mets' battery of starter Taijuan Walker and catcher Patrick Mazeika. Turner comfortably beat Mazeika's throw and the tag of Villar -- but his momentum on the pop-up slide carried him past the bag and onto his backside, allowing Villar to tag him out when Turner's foot came off the base.
Later, after apparently learning his lesson from his ill-fated pop-up slide, Turner then slid head-first when he again tried to steal second in the fifth inning. The attempt was successful in that Turner stole the base, but it appeared painful and potentially costly. The 28-year-old looked to have jammed his hand or wrist on the leg or knee of Villar, who was trying to block the bag from Turner's reach.
After Turner doubled over in pain, favoring his left arm, the infielders exchanged words over what Turner seemed to view as something less than fully legal.
It was at least the second time this season Turner jammed the hand on headlong dive, the first coming in late June, when he slid into third while legging out a triple against the Rays to complete his third career cycle. He missed a few games due to soreness but later returned to the lineup without an IL stint.
After Thursday's game, Turner said there was no hard feelings, and he and Villar had hashed things out.
"We just had a conversation about it," Turner told reporters. "We're all good. It's baseball, we're all out there competing. I just want to make sure everybody's good and everybody's safe, and I think we're on the same page now, so we're good."
The former Nationals star, acquired by the Dodgers along with Max Scherzer prior to the trade deadline, notched his 24th steal -- good for second in the Majors behind Kansas City's Whit Merrifield -- in 28 attempts on Thursday.
The fleet-footed dynamo had one of the coolest looking plays of the season earlier this month, when he seemed to be gliding on ice on an incredible pop-up slide while avoiding the tag of Phillies catcher JT Realmuto on a play at the plate in Philadelphia.
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