Turner matches franchise record with 8-for-8 streak

Trea Turner knew he had gone 8-for-8 over the last two nights - "I mean, if you don't, you're lying," he said. "Everyone thinks about it." - but he didn't know he had tied a franchise record in the process.

Not until Turner went back to watch video of his final at-bat of Wednesday night's game, his ninth-inning strikeout, did he see a graphic on the screen pointing out he needed one more hit to break the record set previously by the Expos' Andre Dawson in 1983 and the Nationals' Dmitri Young in 2007.

"If I would have known that, I wouldn't have struck out, probably," he said.

Alas, Turner did strike out, and so his streak of consecutive hits ended at eight. Which was no insignificant achievement.

In addition to matching the franchise record, Turner's eight straight hits were only two shy of the National League record, set by many (most recently by Andre Ethier in 2012).

Oh, and don't forget he's also a rookie with 64 games of major league experience.

"He's still so young," teammate Ryan Zimmerman said. "He's still learning how to play and learning himself. His baseball IQ is through the roof. I think he makes adjustments really quick. He's really observant of what goes on around him. He's going to be a really good one."

Turner's 8-for-8 streak came on the heels of a three-strikeout game at Camden Yards on Monday night, further evidence of his ability to make adjustments and bounce back from poor performances.

What allows him to do that?

"I think it's an empty mind," he said. "You're not really thinking too much. You just react. I think the more you can do that, the better you'll be, the more success you'll have, better pitches you'll swing at. When you're trying to guess what he's going to throw you, or what you're trying to do ... blah, blah, blah, you get out of sync and you don't see the ball as well."

Turner hasn't had any trouble seeing the ball the last two nights. And those that have been watching him day in and day out expect to see plenty more of that.

"He had a great night at the plate," manager Dusty Baker said. "He's also a very determined young man. That determination and youthful exuberance, I think, has rubbed off on the team."