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You may not have noticed on Sunday, but Justin Turner failed to reach base against the Nationals. It hadn’t happened in quite a while, and ended what was the longest active streak in MLB — 39 straight games reaching base.
Turner flew out to left field in the first inning, then grounded out to shortstop in both the fourth and sixth innings. That Turner — who batted third in the Dodgers lineup, like he has every one of his games this season — didn’t get a fourth trip to the plate shows how hard scoring was to come by on Sunday. And that the Dodgers won at home, so Turner didn’t get to lead off the bottom of the ninth.
The 39-game streak dated back to last August 4, and counts regular season games only. Turner failed to reach base in four of his 18 games in the postseason, but in terms of a regular season streak it was the longest streak by a Dodger since Shawn Green reached base in 53 straight games in 2000.
Turner’s streak is tied for the 11th-longest in Dodgers history, with only three Los Angeles streaks ahead of him.
Longest Dodgers on-base streaks
| Player | Home City | Games | Year(s) | OBP during streak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Home City | Games | Year(s) | OBP during streak |
| Duke Snider | Brooklyn | 58 | 1954 | .448 |
| Shawn Green | Los Angeles | 53 | 2000 | .458 |
| Ron Cey | Los Angeles | 47 | 1975-76 | .449 |
| Len Koenecke | Brooklyn | 44 | 1934 | .421 |
| Zack Wheat | Brooklyn | 44 | 1919-20 | .386 |
| Augie Galan | Brooklyn | 43 | 1945 | .441 |
| Eric Karros | Los Angeles | 41 | 1994-95 | .418 |
| Babe Herman | Brooklyn | 40 | 1926 | .435 |
| Zack Wheat | Brooklyn | 40 | 1918 | .462 |
| Ed Lennox | Brooklyn | 40 | 1910 | .404 |
| Justin Turner | Los Angeles | 39 | 2020-21 | .429 |
| Steve Sax | Los Angeles | 39 | 1986-87 | .442 |
| Billy Grabarkewitz | Los Angeles | 39 | 1970 | .418 |
| Duke Snider | Brooklyn | 39 | 1953 | .464 |
| Jim Gilliam | Brooklyn | 39 | 1953 | .473 |
Even with the 0-for-3, Turner is hitting .378/.415/.676 in the early going, and his two home runs are already a personal April record, with 17 of remaining games in the month for Turner to add to his total.
With Turner’s streak now over, the longest active MLB streak belongs to DJ LeMahieu, who has reached base in his last 29 straight games.
Links
- Zach McKinstry is off to a torrid start, writes Mike DiGiovanna at the Los Angeles Times.
- Bill Plunkett at the Orange County Register offers his thoughts on the Dodgers “pitching gymnastics” in shuffling their rotation.
- MLB.com’s Dodgers stat of the day profiles Clayton Kershaw being 100 games over .500 in his career.
- Molly Knight at The Athletic talked to several Dodgers fans at the home opener.
- On Saturday, old friend Tim Locastro stole his 28th career base without getting caught, setting a major league record to start a career. His cleats are headed to Cooperstown.