Dave Roberts wasn’t quite ready to bench struggling second baseman Gavin Lux in favor of Kiké Hernández, but Lux was beginning to test the patience of the Dodgers manager as his slump extended into a third week and the playoffs drew near.
Lux was one of baseball’s best hitters for seven weeks after the All-Star break, batting .347 with a 1.043 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, seven homers, 14 doubles and 21 RBIs in 40 games from July 20 to Sept. 4. But that bat went into a deep freeze this month, the left-handed-hitting Lux hitting .111 (four for 36) with a .378 OPS, no extra-base hits and three RBIs in 16 games from Sept. 6 through Tuesday night.
With Hernández hitting .291 with an .855 OPS, four homers, three doubles and 10 RBIs in 22 games since Aug. 23, did Roberts consider giving the right-handed-hitting Hernández more starts against right-handers?
“It’s been a rough couple of weeks for Gavin, but I think his body of work since he got going has been very good, and I’m going to give him every opportunity to start against right-handers in the postseason,” Roberts said before Wednesday night’s game against the San Diego Padres.
“I think his mindset has been consistent, and it’s my job to continue to instill confidence. To have Kiké available in whatever spot is huge, but that’s not on my mind right now.”
Roberts’ faith in Lux was rewarded Wednesday night when Lux lined a two-out, score-tying single to center field in the fourth inning and singled in the eighth inning of a 4-3 victory over the Padres that pushed the Dodgers to the brink of their 11th National League West title in 12 years.
“I’m trying to have a good mentality, that I want to be in that position, that I can get a big hit with two outs and not be afraid to [screw] it up,” Lux said after the Dodgers pushed their division lead to three games with four games to play. “You know, just wanting that opportunity and embracing it.
“It’s a playoff mentality. You have to do whatever you can to win and compete, kind of forget about how bad your mechanics feel and just go out and play baseball.”
The Dodgers trailed 2-1 in the fourth inning when Tommy Edman lined a two-out double to right-center field. Lux took two balls before lacing a 95-mph fastball from Dylan Cease into center field to score Edman for a 2-2 tie. Shohei Ohtani capped the rally with a double to right for a 3-2 lead.
“He made me look good tonight,” Roberts said of Lux. “I trust him. I trust all of our guys. Tommy has been scuffling, and he came up with a big hit, and Gavin really came up big for us tonight.”
Lux missed all of last season after tearing two ligaments in his right knee in a freak spring-training baserunning mishap, and he acknowledged that he babied the surgically repaired knee in his return this season. The result was a swing that was more tentative and produced more soft contact, which led to a .213 average, .563 OPS, three home runs, eight doubles and 24 RBIs in 78 games before the All-Star break.
Lux adjusted his mindset and approach in the week before the break — ”I don’t think it’s a swing change, I’m just trying to be more aggressive, and when I get a decent pitch to hit, put a good swing on it,” he said — and the results were almost immediate.
Lux won NL player of the week to start the second half and continued to tear up the league until early September, when he went into a deep funk.
“There’s a little passivity at times with breaking balls early, there’s more swing and miss, and probably a little bit more chase,” Roberts said. “I’d like to think there isn’t a loss of confidence.”
Lux didn’t think his attacking mentality wavered, but opposing pitchers began attacking him differently.
“I’m getting a lot of backdoor spin, tons of changeups and splits,” Lux said. “It’s that cat-and-mouse game where you take one thing away, then they go to what you’re not hitting. I was probably too slow to adjust and got caught in-between. But I think I’m moving in the right direction and figuring out a game plan and an approach that works.”
Lux, a .203 hitter with a .555 OPS in 279 career plate appearances against left-handers, has had a particularly tough time against them this season, batting .156 with a .402 OPS in 49 plate appearances, struggles that reduced him to a platoon role with Hernández and Chris Taylor.
“Any baseball player would tell you that the more you’re out there, you get into a good, consistent rhythm, you get to feel things out a little more,” Lux said. “But at the end of the day, I can’t make any excuses. I have to be better against left-handers if I want to be in there every day.”
The Dodgers have been in a dogfight with San Diego and Arizona for the division all summer, so Roberts hasn’t had the luxury of giving Lux a longer leash against left-handers.
“It’s hard for a hitter when you’re not getting those looks, but I feel that, quite frankly, we’ve had better options [against left-handers],” Roberts said. “I do believe Gavin is going to hit left-handed pitching, and going forward, he’s going to be an everyday player. But I think that his splits this year, that’s more on me, given his lack of opportunities.”
