Trea Turner’s breakout from second half slump comes at perfect time for Phillies

For a Philadelphia Phillies team that had been struggling, one of the things they may try is looking to the superstars in their loaded lineup to help get out of the rut. But what do you do when the superstar also happens to be struggling mightily as well?

In that case, you give them a day off to regroup, then patiently wait and hope they just flip a switch and bust back out in a big way in due time. That is exactly what has taken place for star shortstop Trea Turner in the past couple of games.

Trea Turner’s breakout from second half slump comes at perfect time for Phillies

Entering Thursday’s match against the Washington Nationals, Turner was only 16-for-95 in his previous 22 games, with only two home runs and seven RBI.

He went on that night to have his first three-hit game since July 9, setting the pace for the Phillies in their 13-3 win over the Nationals. Turner followed that up with his first four-hit game of the season on Friday, including a ninth-inning walk-off single to seal a 3-2 victory for the Phillies.

So why was that huge for both Turner and the Phillies?

When the Phillies were slumping big time following the All-Star break, Turner was enduring the same fate as well, making both tough to watch at times. Whatever Turner has been doing, it was certainly a far cry from the elite All-Star numbers he put up during the first half of the season, hamstring injury and all.

“I feel like I’m doing things right,” Turner said after Friday’s walk-off win, per MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki.

Here’s the drastic difference between Turner’s pre- and post-All Star break numbers, up until Aug. 14:

His overall offensive production had dropped off considerably, so much that it was almost reminiscent of the extensive struggles he had during the first half of 2023. That can be somewhat concerning for both Turner and the Phillies, given that they will need their $300 million man to be one of their offensive leaders to consistently deliver for them to have any success.

With his huge breakout over the past two days, not only does Turner appear to be turning his own fortunes around, he is doing the same for the Phillies team as a whole. It couldn’t have come at a better time as Philadelphia had lost four of their previous five and 11 of their previous 16 prior to Thursday.

With these two important wins, they now have a solid three-game win streak to build on heading into the final weeks of the season.

As for Turner, hopefully this is just the beginning of what many will be expecting from him down the stretch. The Phillies need all the help they can get if they still want to finish first in the NL East and aim to enter the postseason with the best possible matchup.