Trea Turner Finishes 2020 With a Bang
Trea Turner fell short in his bid to become the first National League batting champion in 85 years to hit better than .350 while playing shortstop.
The former NC State star finished third in the hitting race behind teammate Juan Soto and Atlanta first baseman Freddie Freeman. But he still led the league in both hits and triples while finishing 2020 with a .335 batting average.
Turner ended his season with a bang on Sunday by going 2 for 5 with a grand slam homer and a career-high seven RBI to lead the Washington Nationals to a 15-5 rout of the New York Mets.
For the season, Turner finished with 78 hits, 12 homers, 15 doubles, four triples and 41 runs driven in, to go along with 46 runs scored and 12 stolen bases. He also set a career high with a 16-game hitting streak in August that is the longest ever by a former Wolfpack player in the Major Leagues.
Also Sunday, fellow State alumnus Carlos Rodón finished his disappointing regular season on a positive note by throwing 1 2/3 scoreless innings of relief for the Chicago White Sox in a 10-8 loss to the crosstown Chicago Cubs.
Rodón has been bothered all year by a shoulder problem that limited him to just four games. But Sunday's appearance, in which he struck out one without allowing a baserunner, was the first in which he didn't allow a run. It also helped lower his earned run average from 10.50 to 8.22.
It also left open the possibility that Rodón could be included on the White Sox's postseason roster. Chicago is the seventh seed in the American League and will take on the Oakland Athletics in the first round of the playoffs.
The other former State player to see action in the Majors Leagues this season, catcher Andrew Knizner, got 16 at bats for the St. Louis Cardinals in a fill-in role, finishing with four hits, four RBI a run scored and a .250 average.
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