After enduring a 5-15 stretch, the Los Angeles Dodgers have responded by winning 11 of their last 12 games, including seven consecutive with series sweeps of the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Francisco Giants.
One player who has been key to the club’s success is Gavin Lux, who hit a stellar .385/.429/.692 with two doubles, two home runs and nine RBI during the past week. Both of the homers were grand slams — the firsts of Lux’s career — and came within five days of each other.
“Pretty locked in mechanically and I feel like I can just go see ball, hit ball, basically,” Lux said of his rhythm at the plate.
“That’s really been it. I feel like I’m in rhythm and on time consistently. Before, it was kind of in between, or I wasn’t on time, or I would be early or late getting going with my load. I just feel like consistently I’m more on time right now.”
Lux has assumed an everyday role at shortstop with Corey Seager on the injured list, but doesn’t believe his offensive turnaround is related to the position change. “No, I don’t think so. Whether it’s short or second, it doesn’t affect how I feel in the box,” Lux said.
“I don’t think it matters at all. I think it’s just a little bit more of a coincidence that I feel like I’m in rhythm and seeing the ball well while playing short. I think it’s just more of a coincidence than anything.”
Getting the opportunity to play shortstop on a consistent basis in the Majors is something Lux won’t take for granted. “It’s been fun. I haven’t gotten a chance to play there too much the last two or three years, so it’s been pretty fun getting back over there,” he said.
“Just taking ground balls, reading swings and trying to make plays for guys. I think overall it’s been pretty fun getting back over there for a little bit.”
Lux praises Dodgers’ depth after sweeping Giants
Not only were the Dodgers able to complete a sweep of the Giants this weekend, they did so with several key players available, including Mookie Betts, who missed the final two games of the series.
“I think even when we’re not at full strength we have a lot of really, really, really good players. Our starting pitching has been unbelievable as well, our bullpen has been really good and our at-bats have been super competitive up and down the lineup,” Lux said.
“I think it’s no secret we have a lot of depth and we’re all kind of rolling right now. I think we just went through a funky stretch there where we all kind of slumped. Now, obviously, we’re picking back up where we left off earlier in the year. Hitting is contagious and keeps rolling on to the next guy.”
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