Trea Turner experienced the full range of the Philadelphia sports fan Monday night. He was booed vociferously. He was cheered euphorically. Such is life when you’re swinging a hot bat and wielding a leaky glove. Turner belted a pair of home runs – a two-run shot and a three-run shot – in the Phillies’ wild 10-7 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers at Citizens Bank Park. With the five-RBI performance, the Phillies’ shortstop atoned for a ragged night in the field. He made his third error in four games – and 15th of the season – in the first inning and misplayed three other balls that were ruled base hits. His misplay with two outs in the top of the sixth inning allowed a run to score as the Dodgers, who trailed, 4-0, early in the game, made it a 4-3 game. Turner was booed loudly as he failed to make a play on the generously scored infield hit by Andy Pages. Moments later, the boos turned to cheers when Turner clubbed a three-run homer just inside the left-field foul pole to cap a four-run inning and give the Phils an 8-3 lead. The homer was the 200th of Turner’s career. His big offensive night also included the 300th double of his career in the first inning. “It was a ridiculous game, in general, by me,” Turner said afterward. “I was happy we got the win, but it was just a roller coaster – up, down, up, down.” Turner’s third misplay of the game came in the ninth inning on a ball off the bat of Tommy Edman. Turner could not make a play and the ball bounced to third baseman Alec Bohm. At that point, the ridiculousness of it all got to Turner and he couldn’t help but laugh as his teammates tried to lighten the mood by playfully ribbing him. “You have games like that sometimes and you just have to laugh about it,” he said. “If you can’t laugh at yourself, you’re kind of done for.” Laughter might be medicine on a night when you drive in five runs and win a ballgame, but in the big picture, Turner’s defensive struggles are no laughing matter. At least they won’t be as the games get bigger and bigger down the stretch. Surely, they are no laughing matter to the front office, which has to at least consider moving Turner to the outfield next season. He made 40 errors at shortstop his first two seasons with the club, improved greatly last season, but is struggling again this season. The 33-year-old has seven more years remaining on his contract. Don’t look for any changes in the short term. “Trea’s our guy,” manager Don Mattingly said. “He works every day. It’s not like he’s out there and doesn’t care about defense. Trea cares about his defense and he wants to make plays. So, we ride with Trea. I trust him. You’ve got to put it behind you. He’s not bothered by what people say. He wants to make plays. He wants to win and he wants to get better and he knows he’s better than that.” Said Turner: “I have to be better. Everyone talks about rhythm at the plate, but there’s rhythm on the basepaths and rhythm on defense. Sometimes you feel good, sometimes you don’t. You just have to find that flow again.” Turner’s defense has become a red-hot issue just as his bat has gotten red hot. All season long, the Phillies have been looking for a productive right-handed stick. Over the last month, Turner has been just that. Over his last 27 games, he is hitting .324 (36 for 111) with seven homers and 19 RBIs. His on-base percentage over that span is .360. “I always want to be a dangerous hitter,” Turner said. “I feel when I’m going good, I can affect the game in a lot of ways. I always talk about hitting mistakes. Tonight, I got a few of those and that’s when you can really drive the ball.” Turner wasn’t the only one to drive the ball in the game. Mookie Betts homered twice for the Dodgers. Brandon Marsh, Bryce Harper and Derek Hill all homered for the Phillies late in the game. It was a wild one, as you’d expect from two frequent postseason foes, with lots of intensity and lots of Phillies offense. Everything started with Turner. “As Trea goes, we go,” Mattingly said. “When he’s getting on base and doing his thing, it changes our club.” Cristopher Sanchez battled a high pitch count and pitched 5 1/3 innings. He left leading 4-1 and earned his 12th win. Zack Wheeler gets the ball Tuesday night against All-Star lefty Justin Wrobleski. ...read more read less