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MLB WORLD SERIES: ASTROS VS DODGERS

October 30, 2017

Justin Turner

Los Angeles, California - Workout Day

Q. Kind of a non-baseball question: Two days ago I saw you get off the elevator coming into Dodger Stadium, as you got off you stopped and hugged a lady that was running the elevator, named Marie. You always hug her because it works. Can you tell me about that?
JUSTIN TURNER: I hug her because she's a nice person, and she's in there every day. She takes us up and down the elevator. It's not a superstitious thing, or about winning or losing. It's because she's a wonderful human being and we enjoy seeing her every day.

Q. So it's not superstitious, you're just being nice to a lady doing her job at Dodger Stadium?
JUSTIN TURNER: Yeah, she's in there every day. She's as much a part of the team as anyone else here. I try to treat everyone around here with just as much respect as I would treat Dave Roberts.

Q. I remember you telling us you can never remember it being louder at Dodger Stadium. Can Dodger fans give you guys the same kind of lift now the next two nights?
JUSTIN TURNER: Yeah, I mean we obviously enjoy playing at home in front of our fans, and we've had a lot of success here this year. And I know that everyone is excited for tomorrow, and excited for Game 6. And our fans are behind us a hundred percent and no one is counting us out. And we're going to be ready to go, and they're going to be full of energy tomorrow night.

Q. Could you please talk a little bit about the statue of your leg injury. And how are these two days going to help you recover at least a little bit better?
JUSTIN TURNER: Yeah, the leg is fine. I think if it was a home game yesterday, I would have been playing third base. Just got together with the training staff and Dave, and had some conversations about what the best way to go about it was and they decided that DHing was probably the best way to go. So I would be fine regardless. That was just their decision.

Q. Seems like throughout the year you guys maybe kind of created this whole thing of staying with the process, so to speak, and it feels like you guys really put that into practice, even during the losing streak, it seems like you didn't change too much. The fact that you guys have stayed the course, so to speak, what value do you think that that had throughout the season, throughout the playoffs, and how does that help you guys coming into a Game 6 in this particular situation?
JUSTIN TURNER: I think it comes down to the trust that Dave and the front office has in the guys in the clubhouse. And just because a guy has a bad game or two doesn't mean you tear up the blueprint and start from scratch. And Cody is the perfect example of that. And everyone was probably panicking and freaking out after the first couple of games. I even saw some people calling to not even put him in the lineup. And you look at the swings he's taken over the last two games that have had an impact on our lineup, and that's why you stay with it, and that's why you trust the process, and that's why you just keep moving forward, and you keep getting to the next pitch or the next at-bat.

And there's not a guy in here that doesn't believe in the guy that's standing next to him. That's how we've gone all year long. That's how we've had success and that's how we'll continue to keep going.

Q. How much do you appreciate that as players that management is willing to stick with you guys, even when things aren't going well?
JUSTIN TURNER: Yeah, like I said, it's about trust. And there's a two-way street. And we trust Dave and what he's doing, and his open-minded communication to us has been incredible. And he trusts us, and he puts us in positions to succeed and have success. And it's worked out pretty well for us.

Q. Yesterday's game could be emotionally draining as well as physically draining. How are you dealing with that and overcoming that and getting ready for Game 6?
JUSTIN TURNER: It's easy; this is the World Series. As good or bad as the result is, we still have another game to play. We still have another opportunity.

Yeah, as emotional of a roller coaster as that game was, and we know we didn't get the result we wanted, the bottom line is we still get to play a World Series game tomorrow, so everyone is going to be excited about that.

Q. On the home-field advantage, apart from the fans and the noise, do you feel that your team is as suited for Dodger Stadium as the Astros seem to be for their ballpark? And if that's the case, how glad are you that even with that losing streak, you guys were able to hang onto the home-field advantage?
JUSTIN TURNER: Yeah, absolutely, I think being able to have the last at-bat in this series is going to be important, as you saw in that game last night. Even with the skid, trying to nail down home-field advantage was something that we had talked about, and something that we wanted to do. Obviously we like our position a lot better being down three games to two playing at home than if we were heading to Houston today.

Q. Rich Hill has pitched some interesting and pretty big games for you guys since he came over a year ago August. And even the other night that curveball seemed to be locked in, and he punched out seven in four innings. Is that an overlooked or underappreciated source of confidence for you guys going into Game 6?
JUSTIN TURNER: I think if you dig into the numbers, the second best pitcher in baseball over the last couple of years has been Rich Hill. Obviously Clayton gets a lot of the attention. And Yu coming over here gets a lot of attention. But Rich Hill has been unbelievable for us all year long, down in the strike zone and getting us deep in the games. Just the veteran presence he has on the mound, the composure, the competitiveness that he brings, the fire. It's huge for us. And I know speaking for myself, and I'm sure a lot of other guys in the clubhouse are pretty fired up that he's going to get the ball tomorrow night.

Q. We've got two teams with a hundred-plus wins in the series, obviously only one is going to win the title. For the team that losses, how much does it diminish the accomplishments of the regular season and make it somewhat forgettable?
JUSTIN TURNER: I think at this point in the series nothing is going to be forgettable about this season. Obviously we want to be the last team standing on the field, win the last game of the season. And that's the goal. But you have literally the two best teams in baseball are going at it. It's the clash of the titans right now, and I don't think there's a single moment of this season that will be unforgettable.

Q. A lot of people knew that the Astros and the Dodgers both could score a lot of runs. That all said, are you surprised at how much the ball is flying out of the ballpark this series so far, with the record-setting home runs?
JUSTIN TURNER: The ball has been flying out of the ballpark all year. So, no. Obviously we believe in our pitching staff and what they've done all year has been really good. And that's our goal is to try to limit the damage. But the ball has been flying all year long.

So, no, it's not surprising. I will say that you might see a little bit different game here tomorrow night, a little bit different weather. It's going to be a lot cooler here than it was for the first two games, and it might be a different ballgame than you've seen in the first five games.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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