Lux Covers Shortstop for Injured Seager

Lux Covers Shortstop for Injured Seager – Weekly Recap: May 10-May16

Lux has shown on and off weeks at the plate all season, and after a not-so-great last week, he looked much better in this one. He’s been strong defensively all season, and that continued when he took over at short for Seager as well. He’s coming up in big moments for the Dodgers, and he’s finding ways to contribute when needed.  And Lux will definitely be needed to cover shortstop for the injured Seager for the foreseeable future. 

May 10 – Team Off Day

Gavin Lux vs. Seattle Mariners

May 11 – Offense Opens Up

Lux continues to hit out of the eight spot, and it seems to be working for him as of late. In his first AB, he had a chance to tie the game up, but Haniger made a sliding grab to rob him of a base hit. He struck out his next time up, but on a defensive swing in the 7th, he reached base with an infield base hit. Lux came around to score on Seager’s base hit, and Dodgers trailed 4-3 at this point.

The 8th inning of this game is when all of the Dodgers offensive woes finally lifted. With the tying run on second and the go-ahead on first, Lux launched a ball into right field and let out a “Let’s fucking go!” while looking at the dugout, and he helped propel the Dodgers to a 6-4 win. I was convinced this moment was the turning point for the offense, and to this point, it’s proven to be just that. Also, if you missed it, Lux credited the pants for his home run, and it was great.

May 12 – Late Innings Lux

Like his previous game, it took Lux until the later innings to get going in the second game against the Mariners. After grounding too short in his first AB, he hit into a fielder’s choice the next time up, resulting in Smith getting thrown out at the plate and Lux safe at first. In the fifth inning, he faced old friend JT Chargois and hit an RBI base hit to right field, giving the Dodgers a 6-1 lead. In his final AB of the game, he hit a slow grounder back up the middle and beat the throw to first for his second hit. Another back-to-back multi-hit game for Lux.

May 13 –Team Off Day

Gavin Lux vs. Miami Marlins

May 14 – Double and a (Not Quite) Sac RBI

Lux started this game with a double off Sandy Alcantara in the second inning. He came around to score on Barnes’ double, and the Dodgers took a 2-0 lead. He didn’t reach again in the game, but in the 7th, he lined a pitch right back at the pitcher who threw the ball away, trying to double up Muncy at second. A run came across to score, giving the Dodgers a 9-5 lead. This obviously doesn’t go down as an RBI for Lux, but a run came across to score on the pitcher’s throwing error, so it works.

May 15 – No Hit, But An RBI

While Lux didn’t have a base hit in this game, he did have an RBI and reached base later. He struck out swinging his first time up.  The second time to the plate, he grounded out with the bases loaded, but it did bring a run home, giving the Dodgers a 2-0 lead in the fourth. Then he struck out for the second time of the game in his third AB and drew a walk to load the bases in the eighth. He scored on Mookie’s sac fly and was the game’s final run as the Dodgers won this one 7-0.

May 16 – Lux Covers Shortstop for Injured Seager

With Seager going to the IL with a broken hand, it’s expected for Lux to take over at shortstop most games, and on Sunday, we saw just that. Lux reached in his second appearance reaching on a two-out walk but was left stranded. He came through in the eighth with a big hit against Dylan Floro, singling to right field and moving the tying run to third, but Raley struck out, stranding both runners. In the ninth inning, Lux made a fantastic barehanded play at short to get the speedy Jazz Chisholm Jr. and end the inning. 

This week’s fewer games than last helped Lux’s strikeout numbers, but it was nice to see him draw two walks over four games. We finally saw some power from him with his go-ahead home run on Tuesday, and he’s been clutch with two outs and runners in scoring position. While it seems unlikely Lux will be able to keep up with his offensive production, it will be nice having his glove cover the injured Seager at shortstop. Let’s hope he builds on this, and we see the same Lux over this next week.

WEEKLY STATS:

BA: .231

OPS: .592

R: 4 (10)

Hits: 6 (24)

RBI: 5 (13)

AB: 18 (104)

BB: 2 (7)

2B: 1 (2)

3B: 0 (2)

HR: 1 (1)

SB: 0 (1)

For last week’s recap, click here.

For the latest Gavin Lux stats, click here.

Photo Credit – Michael Owens/Getty Images