Once a heavy favorite to win National League Rookie of the Year, Gavin Lux now is simply trying to take hold of the opportunity the Los Angeles Dodgers have provided him with at second base.
Lux got off to a hot start this season but cooled and spent time on the 10-day injured list due to right wrist soreness. The 23-year-old had a hit in his first game back, but then went hitless in four consecutive contests.
Lux has followed that by hitting safely in six of the past eight, including delivering a game-winning home run Tuesday night against the Seattle Mariners. “It definitely felt good, especially in that situation,” Lux said.
“We were kind of chipping away at the lead, grinding out at-bats and competing pretty hard. It felt good in that situation to get a good pitch to hit. Everybody competed pretty hard, so it was a good overall team win.”
On a personal level, the home run was Lux’s first of the season. It also drew more attention to the slim-fit pants he wore.
@TheRealGavinLux doin his best
“Quit playin games with my heart” @backstreetboys in his #TightPants ❤️ 🤣🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/rvwMrBhBaZ— Justin Turner (@redturn2) May 12, 2021
As it turned out, Lux took a page — and pants — from Walker Buehler. “They’re actually Walker’s pants. Whenever Walker is out there rocking the tight pants, I’ll rock them with him,” he explained. “But they might be here to stay now. We’ll see.”
Buehler gained notoriety over the fit of his pants during the Dodgers’ postseason run last year. He has kept the same look this year.
Regardless of what Lux decides on moving forward, he’s hopeful to have provided the Dodgers with a spark. They still have only won six of their past 20 games, but their victory in the opener of the Interleague series prevented the team from dropping to .500 on the season.
“Coming from behind, I think that might give us a little momentum,” Lux said. “It definitely felt good to get that win. Obviously we haven’t been playing great baseball, but tonight was a clean game. Walker competed, the bullpen competed, we competed in our at-bats. Overall it was really fun.”
Buehler enjoyed Lux’s celebration
Immediately after making contact with the 97 mph fastball from Rafael Montero, Lux turned toward the Dodgers’ dugout, pounded his chest and shouted an expletive in celebration.
“Obviously, you could see kind of the pent-up emotion inside him come out, which is a good thing and something that we want,” Buehler said. “If he keeps hitting the ball like that, he can yell and scream whatever he pleases. I think it’s big for us as a unit.”
Lux said it was the most emotion he’s ever shown but that there wasn’t a clear reason behind it. “I think I saw Joc do it last week, so I was kind of copying him,” he joked. “No, I’m kidding.”
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