Phillies fans give slumping shortstop Trea Turner an emotional lift

If Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner is able to turn around what has so far been the worst season of his major league career, he can most likely point to this past weekend as the starting point.

Mired in a season-long slump, Turner was dropped to the No. 8 spot in the Phillies batting order on Thursday, and after going hitless in three at-bats, the 2021 National League batting champion's average hit a season-low .235.

But instead of returning home from a seven-game road trip and hearing boos from the notoriously hard-to-please Phillies fans – as he had on several occasions earlier in the season – he came to the plate on Friday night to a standing ovation.

An emotional Turner said after the game that his mother told him she cried when she saw the reception he received in his first plate appearance against the Kansas City Royals: "I guess the fans made her pretty happy."

The next night, with the Phillies trailing 6-5 in the sixth inning, the two-time All-Star provided the kind of game-changing moment the city was eagerly anticipating when he signed an 11-year, $300 million free agent contract this past offseason.

Turner's homer propelled the Phillies to a 9-6 win over the Royals and pulled them one game closer to the San Francisco Giants for the top spot in the NL wild card race. (A win on Sunday and a Giants loss have them dead-even entering play Monday.)

But that's not where the story ends. On Sunday, billboards started popping up around Philadelphia with a message from Turner to the fans – "Thank you, Philly" – along with a photo of him acknowledging the home crowd's support.

Despite a 4-for-12 start to an upcoming 10-game homestand with two doubles, five RBI and his 11th homer of the season, Turner's slash line is still an underwhelming .238/.291/.378.

However, all could be forgiven if he can get hot over the final two months of the regular season and help lead the Phils to a second consecutive World Series appearance.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trea Turner thanks Phillies fans for ovation with billboard ad