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Ranking Justin Turner's most memorable postseason moments with Dodgers

By Jason Reed |
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It was only a matter of time before Justin Turner would find a new home after the Los Angeles Dodgers signed J.D. Martinez. It didn't take long, either -- he swapped places with Martinez and joined the Boston Red Sox.

Boston now has four former Dodgers, all of which were beloved in the fanbase. Turner is joining Enrique Hernandez, Alex Verdugo and Kenley Jansen as Dodger transplants in Boston. JT definitely pained the fanbase the most, as he's been the most popular Dodger (outside of Clayton Kershaw) over the last decade.

Turner has definitely etched his place in the Dodgers' history books. The veteran third baseman ranks first in postseason home runs (tied with Corey Seager), hits, RBI, runs scored and games played. As it stands right now, Turner is the greatest postseason player in franchise history. But what moments were his best?

Ranking Justin Turner's 4 greatest postseason moments with the Dodgers

4. Justin Turner's go-ahead home run in Game 2 of the 2018 NLCS

The 2018 NLCS was a really wonky series that's mostly remembered for Cody Bellinger's heroics. Bellinger won the 2018 NLCS MVP behind a game-saving catch, walk-off single, and go-ahead home run in Game 7. He definitely did the most.

However, the most impactful moment might have been Turner's go-ahead home run in Game 2 of the series. The Dodgers were down 3-0 going into the seventh inning against a Brewers bullpen that was nothing short of dominant that season. With a 1-0 deficit in the series, losing Game 2 could have essentially ended the team's World Series hopes.

The Dodgers managed to cut the gap to 3-2 with two runs in the seventh inning. But that wasn't going to be enough. Los Angeles needed a big swing from one of its best players, and that is exactly what Turner provided.

With Chris Taylor on first base in the eighth inning, Turner pulled a 2-0 offering from Jeremy Jeffress deep down the left field line for a go-ahead home run. The Dodgers would win the game 4-3.

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3. Justin Turner's game-winning home run in the Dodgers' return to the World Series

The Los Angeles Dodgers went 29 years between trips to the World Series and Justin Turner was a key component in getting the team back in 2017 (more on that later). While the 2017 World Series now has a negative connotation surrounding it, the entire city was buzzing when the Dodgers won the NL pennant.

Los Angeles continued its winning ways in Game 1 of the World Series after going 7-1 in the NLDS and NLCS to get there. It was an old-fashioned pitchers duel between Clayton Kershaw and Dallas Keuchel, with one swing being the main difference.

It was 1-1 in the bottom of the sixth after the two teams traded solo home runs (Chris Taylor's being in the Dodgers' first at-bat of the game). Turner stepped to the plate with a runner on first and two outs, and would continue his red-hot October up to that point.

Keuchel hung a 1-2 slider high in the zone to Turner, who promptly sent a high fly ball into left field that just narrowly got out of the ballpark. It was a historically hot World Series game that night in the infamous juiced ball season. In normal conditions, that probably was a flyout.

The Dodgers went on to win Game 1 of the World Series, 3-1. This was actually Turner's most impactful play in his Dodgers career in terms of championship probability added (9.14%).

2. Justin Turner's clutch double play in the 2020 NLCS

The Dodgers may have won the 2020 World Series in six games against the Tampa Bay Rays, but the series that Dodgers fans will remember more is the 2020 NLCS. While the World Series was certainly filled with drama (let's not talk about that Brett Phillips moment), the 2020 NLCS will ultimately go down as one of the best playoff series in team history.

Not only did the Dodgers break an October record with a historic first inning in Game 3 of that series, but the team battled all the way back from 3-1 down to beat the Braves in seven games. It was the most improbable of comebacks against a really good Braves team that would win the World Series the following year.

The biggest moment of that series was Cody Bellinger's go-ahead home run in Game 7, which was Bellinger's best moment as a Dodger. However, that home run wouldn't have been possible if it wasn't for the best defensive play of Turner's career earlier in the game.

Atlanta had a 3-2 lead in the top of the fourth and were threatening to break the game wide open. The Dodgers were forced to go to their best high-leverage reliever, Blake Treinen. With runners on first and second and no outs, Treinen spiked an 0-2 pitch that allowed the runners to move to second and third to remove the double play.

The Dodgers needed a miracle to get out of the inning without a run allowed, and that's exactly what they got.

Nick Markakis chopped a ground ball to Turner, who was positioned on the infield grass near the 5-6 hole. Without hesitation, Turner fired home to get Dansby Swanson in a rundown. Will Smith would flip the ball to Turner, who ran Swanson down and dove to tag him from behind. Turner then made the clutch heads-up play to pivot, fire to third, and get Austin Riley out at third.

Cristian Pache would ground out to end the inning, stopping a potential disaster for the Dodgers. Atlanta would not score again the rest of the game.

1. Justin Turner's 2017 NLCS walk-off home run

This is going to be the moment that's replayed the most when looking back on Turner's Dodgers career. It's unequivocally the biggest moment of his entire career, and while it didn't result in a World Series title, it eventually gave the city of Los Angeles something it lacked for three decades: a National League pennant.

Let's set the stage, shall we? The 2017 Dodgers, who were undoubtedly the most magical Dodgers team over the last decade, were squared off against the defending World Series champions, the Chicago Cubs. A year prior, the Cubs took care of business against the Dodgers to eventually go on and win the 2016 World Series.

The Dodgers took a 1-0 lead in the series with a 5-2 victory in Game 1. Game 2 was not as easy, however, as the two teams were tied 1-1 heading into the ninth inning. Addison Russell hit a solo shot off of Rich Hill in the fifth inning, which was followed by an RBI single by Turner in the bottom of the frame.

After a clean ninth inning by Kenley Jansen, the Dodgers managed to get a runner on second with two outs. In came John Lackey, who walked Chris Taylor to give Turner a shot with runners on first and second and two outs.

29 years to the date after Kirk Gibson's historic walk-off home run in the 1988 World Series, Turner blasted a 1-0 two-seamer to dead center to give the Dodgers a commanding 2-0 series lead en route to the team's first pennant since 1988.

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