LOS ANGELES -- Justin Turner brought Dodger Stadium back to life with a two-run single in the fifth inning of Game 4 of the National League Championship Series on Wednesday night.
The Cubs entered the inning with a 5-0 lead, but John Lackey walked the first two batters to prompt a call for left-handed reliever Mike Montgomery. The Cubs won, 10-2, to tie the series at two games apiece.
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Howie Kendrick loaded the bases with a pinch-hit single and Corey Seager struck out before Turner, a .209 hitter against left-handed pitching in the regular season, hit a bouncer back toward the mound. The ball deflected off Montgomery's glove and dribbled through the hole at shortstop while two runs scored.
It seemed like it would have been an easy 6-4-3 double play had Montgomery not touched the comebacker, and thanks to Statcast™ we can determine if that's the case.
Based on exit velocity, launch angle and direction (just to the left of second base), there were 13 batted balls by right-handed hitters this season that fit similar criteria to the ball Turner hit that also occurred with a runner on first and the double play in order. Of those 13, all of them resulted in at least one out, but just four of them resulted in a double play.
However, Turner is a well below-average runner going to first base. His average "competitive time" to first base this season was 4.62 seconds, which is much slower than the league average of 4.20 seconds on "competitive" runs. Based on running speed, he fits the profile of the four guys who hit into double plays on similar batted balls, a list that includes José Abreu and Yan Gomes.
The play seemed like it could be a game-changer at the time, but Montgomery would eventually get out of the inning to preserve a 5-2 lead before the Cubs rallied to blow the game open.