ESPN May 23, 2023 9:40 am ET3 Minute Read
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. sends one left for a solo home run
The Diamondbacks jump early on the Phillies through Lourdes Gurriel Jr.’s bat.
Trea Turner gets boos from Philadelphia fans frustrated by his slow start for the Phillies, and the star shortstop doesn’t blame them.
“I’ll be honest with myself, I sucked,” Turner said Monday after the ailing Phillies lost to the Diamondbacks.
Turner has been on an 11-year, $300 million contract for less than two months with the Phillies, who signed the two-time All-Star to fanfare last December after their unlikely entry into the 2022 World Series.
But early results were disappointing for Turner, who batted .256 in 46 games with four homers, 11 RBIs and a .693 OPS. The former National League batting champion also has 56 strikeouts in 208 plate appearances, which translates to a strikeout rate of 26.9% — well above his career rate of 18.5%.
Turner’s problems have been even more pronounced lately, as he’s hit just .211 with 38 strikeouts in 120 plate appearances in his last 27 games. Fan frustration with Turner began simmering on Sunday when he was booed during a home win against the Cubs, and those boos continued on Monday as the Phillies lost for the sixth time in their last eight games, falling to 22-25.
Although he admits it’s “probably” the worst slump of his career, Turner is trying to stay positive.
“Every shot, every play, every game is another day to try and improve and be the player I know I am,” he said. “If you keep playing yesterday or keep going on the last shot, it’s just going to snowball at you and you won’t be able to turn things around.
“So I’m being honest with myself. I’m making it clear to myself and I’m not lying to myself. I think I’m a positive person. I think I can always do better and always be better. That’s my attitude.” , but at the same time I know when I’m not doing something right.
The 29-year-old Turner isn’t the only culprit when it comes to the Phillies’ offensive problems. The reigning NL champions start Tuesday, level on points in league 10 in runs (201), and other veteran stars including Kyle Schwarber and JT Realmuto have also made slow starts.
Turner, a career hitter at .299, said he needs to make better pitch-detection and “decision-making” decisions, but Phillies manager Rob Thomson said he was encouraged by some of Turner’s recent attacks, saying, ” It looks like he’s coming.
“My first three At-bats [Sunday] And [Monday] were pretty brutal for the most part,” he said. “It’s just this consistency. If I think I can do that for four or five shots in a day, then for a week and a month, and then I’ll feel a little bit better and happier. But you just have to fight. … I feel like everything is a decision-making process. The swing has been feeling pretty good for two or three weeks now. But the decision-making is quite a coincidence.”