Trea Turner Proves He’s the Phillies’ Heartbeat in Braves Series Win
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - JUNE 28: Trea Turner #7 of the Philadelphia Phillies reacts after hitting a solo home run during the ninth inning against the Atlanta Braves in a game that started on June 27 at Truist Park on June 28, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
This series against the Braves felt like a must-win series for more than just regaining the ground lost in the debacle at Citi Field, but for getting the confidence of the clubhouse back. This series win needed to be resounding and needed to show improvement in all aspects of the Phillies’ game over what we saw in Queens earlier this week.
One of the things that was most uncharacteristic was that the series was a bad one for the most consistent Phillies everyday player this season, Trea Turner. In the series against the Mets, Trea was 1-12 with a run scored. I’m not putting the series loss on Turner’s shoulders, but one thing was made clear: on a team filled with stars and an NL MVP contender, the most important person to the Phillies’ offense has quietly been Turner all season.
As Turner goes, so goes the Phillies offense. This has been the way it has been all season, and in this series against the Braves, this was made clear. On Thursday, while the baseball world was rightfully celebrating Kyle Schwarber‘s incredible 4 home run night, the team was being ignited by Turner. He has quietly anchored the Phils’ offense all season, and when Turner gets on base, the Phillies’ offense plays at an optimal level.
In the 19-4 drubbing of the Braves, Trea was in the middle of it all. He drove in a run and was on base when Schwarber hit his third home run. He went 2-4 with 2 runs scored as well as an RBI.
In game 3 of the series, Turner truly shone, going 3-4 with one of those hits driving in the game-tying and game-winning run in extra innings.
The entirety of the crowd chants “MVP” when Schwarber comes to the plate, and for good reason. His resume this season speaks for itself; he leads the National League in home runs with 49 and leads baseball in RBI with 119. He deserves his flowers here. I would say that the most important player to the Phils is Turner, and this series proved it.
He’s in a heated race for the batting title with the Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman, and when Trea performs, the Phillies’ offense looks great. In a time where batting average isn’t looked at as important, Trea is proving that consistency is important, and batting .300 is just as important to team success as the home run ball is.
Sure, home runs are exciting, and they truly ignite a crowd, but what makes them sting even more is when people are on base when they come. Clutch hitting has been sporadic all season, and there have been a few very extensive draughts of the big hit with runners in scoring position, and that happens when the team is home run hunting. Turner has stayed very consistent all season, and more often than not, he’s the one standing in scoring position in those RISP draughts.
While I appreciated the 4 home run game on Thursday night, the Saturday night walk-off was just as impressive to me. It is also something that can be repeated much more easily.
Outside of game one, Schwarber was 2-11. Contrast that with Turner’s 4-12 over those same games. I’ll never take away anything from Schwarber or Bryce Harper, but Turner is the heartbeat of the offense this season.
In October, Turner will be called upon to be the spark plug of the offense, and as August comes to a close, Turner has shown that his consistency is going to be a linchpin to the Phils making a deep playoff run this season.
Steve Hamilton
Steve may have been born in California, but don’t let that fool you. After dating a local woman and clashing with her and her family over sports for decades, he has an affinity for Philly sports. Balancing love for Philly and Bay Area sports teams may seem impossible, we can all agree that the Cowboys are the true evil.
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