By Jon Weisman
In Game 4 of the 1988 National League Championship Series at New York, the final Dodger run was driven home by Kirk Gibson.
In Game 4 of the 2015 National League Division Series at New York, the final Dodger run was driven home by Justin Turner.
Similarities between Gibson and Turner go beyond that piece of trivia, as well as their lack of a clean shave (in Turner’s case, an extreme lack). Gibson had an intensity that isn’t imitated outwardly by the easy-going Turner, but the latter’s inner drive to be a critical player on the Dodgers’ championship drive is unmistakable.
And like Gibson famously did in 1988, Turner is increasingly seeming to carry the Dodgers without the cooperation of both his legs.
As noted after Tuesday’s Game 4 victory, Turner’s got a swollen knee — bad enough that he grimaced noticeably while making the game’s key defensive play of fielding a hard Wilmer Flores grounder with two out in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Today, Don Mattingly said that he expects Turner to be able to start in Thursday’s deciding NLDS Game 5, though that doesn’t mean he will necessarily finish. With Corey Seager’s comfort at both to play both shortstop and third, Mattingly said that (as happened in Game 4) the Dodgers could substitute Jimmy Rollins for Turner with a lead.
“I don’t think there’s been a huge change from yesterday what he’s able to do,” Mattingly said.
“JT never comes to me and says I have to come out,” Mattingly added. “It’s always a conversation that medical’s checking on him throughout the game.”
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