Justin Turner Named NL Player of the Month for August

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(Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson/USA TODAY Sports)

Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Justin Turner has been named as the National League Player of the Month for August. The announcement was made early Tuesday on the MLB Network.

Turner hit .402 (39-for-97) with 22 runs scored, 11 doubles, a triple, six home runs, 20 RBI and a stolen base across 25 games played to claim his first career NL Player of the Month Award. It was his second monthly award overall after earning NL Rookie of the Month honors in May 2011. Among qualified NL hitters in August, JT finished first in doubles, batting average and on-base percentage (.491); tied for first in hits; second in slugging percentage (.722); tied for second in runs scored and extra-base hits (18); tied for third in triples; and tied for fifth in RBI.  This is the Dodgers’ first Player of the Month Award this season, and the first since Adrian Gonzalez in April 2015.

Turner, who signed in December 2014 as a free agent with the Dodgers, recorded a season-best 14-game hitting streak from August 4th-20th, raising his batting average to .308, a season-best at the time. During his hot stretch at the plate, the California native logged a slash line of .464/.531/.786 with 13 runs scored, 26 hits, seven doubles, three home runs and eight RBI. Nine games were of the multi-hit affairs, including a 4-for-5 performance on August 19th. The impressive outing matched his career highs in hits and RBI. Turner became just the seventh player in franchise history to bat .400-or-better with at least 18 extra-base hits in a single calendar month, joining Hall of Famers Jackie Robinson (May 1949) and Zack Wheat (August 1925), as well as Del Bissonette (May 1930), Babe Herman (July 1930, July 1929) and John Frederick (May 1929).

Additionally, the California State Fullerton University product registered at least two hits and one run scored in four consecutive games from August 24th-28th, becoming the second Dodgers player this season to accomplish the feat (also Joc Pederson; July 21st-25th).

Others receiving votes for NL Player of the Month included All-Star first baseman Paul Goldschmidt (.356, 7 2B, 8 HR, 19 RBI) and outfielder David Peralta (.361, 18 R, 10 HR, 21 RBI) of the Arizona Diamondbacks; outfielder/first baseman José Martínez (.389, 16 R, 9 XBH, 18 RBI) of the St. Louis Cardinals; All-Star outfielder Lorenzo Cain (.356, 19 R, 10 XBH, 5 SB) of the Milwaukee Brewers; outfielder Hunter Renfroe (.302, 6 2B, 9 HR, 27 RBI) of the San Diego Padres; and August’s NL Rookie of the Month Award winner Ronald Acuña Jr. (.336, 25 R, 19 XBH, 21 RBI) of the Atlanta Braves.

(Jon Chapper furnished the information provided in this report)

 

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