Gavin Lux is a key contributor in Dodgers' rout of Nationals

Gavin Lux hits a two-run single during the fifth inning Wednesday.

Staff Writer

April 24, 2024 Updated 8:08 PM PT

WASHINGTON — Back in the spring, Gavin Lux’s biggest problem was throwing the ball. Then the season started, and the Dodgers’ once-highly touted infielder suddenly looked unable to hit.

A month into his return from missing 2023 because of a knee injury, Lux arrived at Nationals Park this week with just nine hits in 19 games, a .148 batting average that ranked 10th worst in the majors among hitters with 50 at-bats, and a seemingly dwindling amount of time to reaffirm his place as a core member of the Dodgers.

Manager Dave Roberts hadn’t lost faith in Lux, the former first-round draft pick who underwent knee ligament surgery last March after a spring training injury. But Lux’s self-belief seemed to be wavering, after his defensive struggles in camp cost him his shortstop spot, and his poor start at the plate raised questions about his role as the second baseman.

“Baseball is so much mental,” Lux said

Which is why, in an 11-2 Dodgers win at Washington on Wednesday night, Lux’s pair of ground-ball singles felt important to his season.

In a win that featured four hits each from Mookie Betts and Will Smith, three doubles from Shohei Ohtani — who continues to lead the majors in batting average (.371), slugging percentage (.695) and OPS (1.128) — and a first career win for rookie pitcher Landon Knack, Lux wasn’t exactly the star of the night.

His first single came on a bouncing ball the other way in the second inning, finding a hole through the left side of the infield for just his third hit in the last two weeks. His second knock was courtesy of even quieter contact, with Lux pulling a ball that bounced five times before evading the diving glove of Nationals second baseman Luis García Jr.

Still, in his first two-hit game since the opening week, Lux’s hits were significant. He came around to score his first time on base, helping the Dodgers to an early 3-0 lead. Then, he all but ended the game with his two-out hit in the fifth, driving in a pair of runs — his first RBIs since April 13 — to turn a 4-2 nail-biter in a comfortable four-run lead.

“That second hit with two outs was huge,” Roberts said. “That was a back-breaker for them.”

More than that, it was the first time in weeks — if not all season — Lux looked like the steady contributor he had been before his injury in 2022, coupling his improved defense at second (where he has yet to commit an error) with his ability to hit the ball to all parts of the field.

“I’d like to think today was something he could build on going forward,” Roberts said. “It was a really good step in the right direction.”

It was the kind of night Dodgers coaches had sensed was coming from Lux, optimistic that despite his poor numbers — he also entered the game with 16 strikeouts, six walks and an on-base-plus-slugging percentage of just .388, seventh worst in the majors — his swing finally was starting to trend positively.

During batting practice on Tuesday (when he sat out the series opener) and Wednesday, Lux started hitting more line drives consistently to left field — a sign to hitting coach Aaron Bates that he was rediscovering his mechanics.

“He’s getting his feels back and seeing, mobility-wise, what he’s capable of doing,” Bates said, noting the difficult physical recalibration that comes with the torn anterior cruciate ligament Lux suffered last year. “He’s a twitchy guy. So when he’s comfortable staying on fastballs the other way, or staying through something soft [to the pull side], that’s what you want to look for.”

Lux also had been trying to reframe his mind-set. He knew there would be rust after a year of rehabilitation. But as his early season slump stretched into its fourth week, he tried to treat any little positive, such as a hard-hit out or clean defensive plays at second, as needed sources of self-belief.

“Especially when you’re slumping, you just trying to keep building momentum and then hopefully bring it into the next day,” said Lux, who has started all but one game against right-handed pitchers. “It’s a tough mental game, so you just gotta keep rolling.”

The Dodgers are giving Lux continued leeway to gain a head of steam.

Before the game, Roberts praised Lux’s work ethic and said he wanted the infielder to get 150 plate appearances before making a sweeping evaluation about his game.

“Given that he hasn’t played in a year, I don’t think that any less is a fair gauge. I just don’t,” Roberts said. “It’s almost in line with a rookie. Not to say that he’s a rookie because he’s clearly not. But … you need a sample.”

By the end of Wednesday night, Lux was up to 72 plate appearances. And after the early ones had been mostly forgettable, he finally enjoyed one game of productive reprieve.

“You just got to keep going with it,” Lux said. “It’ll eventually even out.”