Turner, Grandal downplay dugout argument

Third baseman not happy about catcher's baserunning mistake

June 17th, 2016

LOS ANGELES -- Yamani Grandal's baserunning mistake Thursday night nearly cost the Dodgers a run and resulted in a dugout argument with teammate Justin Turner.
Both players criticized the mistake on the play. Neither seemed bothered that it led to tempers flaring.
With one out in the sixth inning of the 8-6 loss, Joc Pederson on third base and Grandal on first, Turner hit a pinch-hit flyout to left fielder Ryan Braun for the second out. Pederson tagged and headed home, while Grandal tagged and headed to second base to draw a throw so Pederson could score without a play.

Grandal should have stopped, but kept going. Brewers second baseman Scooter Gennett took Braun's throw and ran to tag Grandal for the third out, but plate umpire Ryan Blakney ruled that Pederson scored before the tag and the call was confirmed on review.
That tied the score at 6-6, but when Grandal got to the dugout, Turner let Grandal know what he thought of the catcher's baserunning.
"It's part of the game, it's a long season, we're all competitors and sometimes you have differences of opinion," said Turner. "The goal is to win a game every night. Actually [the argument is] something that hasn't happened too much on this team in three years. I'm not saying anybody is looking for it. Things haven't been going great for us and the bottom line is we want to win games.
"When stuff happens, it happens and you move on from it. We're all men here and all capable of it. It was a spur of the moment thing in the dugout, I don't think it was planned, I don't think any of those are ever planned. Like you guys said, it's over with."
Grandal said if he had to do the play over again, he probably would have retreated when he saw the throw coming into second base.
"It was one of those baserunning mistakes, I guess I had a brain [cramp]. I think this is first baserunning mistake I've made in two years here. Obviously, if the score was affected by it, we would have been down. I kind of just [messed] up. It's just the way it happens. Teammates want to make sure you play smart and the right way. I feel if they're getting on you, they care about the fact you should know better. We all make mistakes. It's not the first time I'll make a mistake and not first time weird things happen."
Grandal also said he was not disappointed that emotions got heated in the dugout between teammates.
"I think we need to play with some fire," he said. "If we fight, we fight. It doesn't matter if it's between each other or with the other team. I feel like if we get some fire within the team to get us going, its fine. At times I feel like we're better than the other team and we lay back and relax instead of making it happen."
Manager Dave Roberts saw the play the same way as Turner.

"It was a lot closer than it should have been," Roberts said. "I applaud the effort from Yaz, the aggressiveness, but in that situation, the ball tells you what to do. Obviously with emotions, people get heated, but we cleaned it up. It's just one of those things where [Turner] thought Yaz should have went back and not continued and make that play as close as it was."