Justin Turner drove in a run for the seventh straight game, establishing a new franchise rookie mark. Swoboda had RBIs in six straight games in August 1965. Turner’s line-drive single to right plated Daniel Murphy as the Mets took a 2-0 first-inning lead. Unfortuantely the Mets got clobbered 7-3, but let’s hear it for Turner.

Way to go Red!

Original Post 12:30 PM – The Justin Turner Craze

Just when things were starting to look up for the Mets, the Rapture has to come along and end all the excitement. Tonight might be the last chance we get to toss a no-hitter… Can Capuano deliver the goods?

One player who has been delivering the goods again, and again, and again, is none other then Justin Turner or “Dead Red” as some are beginning to call him.

Unless you were out buying white robes for todays big event, you already know that last night Justin Turner tied a long-standing franchise record that hasn’t been duplicated since 1965.

The 26-year-old infielder matched Ron Swoboda’s franchise rookie record with an RBI in his sixth straight game. Turner’s fourth-inning single tied the game and helped the Mets beat the Yankees 2-1 in front of a packed house at Yankee Stadium.

According to Adam Rubin, Turner’s Twitter follower total — his handle is @redturn2 — jumped from 1,830 to 2,598 in the three hours after he produced Friday’s RBI. That’s pretty awesome.

Even more awesome was what went on in the Twitterverse all throughout the game as Mets fans had fun tweeting accolades for Justin Turner with this tag: #JustinTurnerFacts

“If you would have asked me five years ago if I thought I’d be having this kind of success in the major leagues, I would have probably said, ‘Yeah. OK. Whatever.’ Take it with a grain of salt,” Turner said. “But I feel like I put in a lot of work and a lot of time. Right now, the game is just rewarding me. I don’t know. I’ve been on the other end of it too. I don’t want to take it for granted.”

Here are some of the many funny “Justin Turner Facts” I came across, beginning with the one I believe started it all from the Daily Stache:

◊ He asked Bob Sheppard to announce his name, but Sheppard didn’t feel worthy.

◊ Robert Redford after breaking his bat in The Natural borrowed Justin Turner’s Bat.

◊ He knows what Meatloaf won’t do for love.

◊ Justin Turner played Rusty Staub in the school play.

◊ Justin Turner knows how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop.

◊ In a 400m dash, he gave a cheetah a 300m head start and ran backwards on his hands. The Cheetah still lost. 

◊ Sandy Alderson talks to Turner before making any move.

◊ He has personally postponed the Rapture till the subway series is over.

◊ Bill James comes to him for ideas about Sabermetrtics.

Justin Turner is hitting .364 in 55 AB this season, and in his last ten games he is batting .405 with 11 RBI and six runs scored. Tonight he can set the Mets franchise rookie record for consecutive games with an RBI.

Go Gett’em Red!