Secret to Lux's surge, in a word? 'Confidence'

LOS ANGELES -- It might’ve taken a little longer than most anticipated at the start of the season, but Gavin Lux is starting to look a whole lot like himself over the last week, a potentially massive boost to the bottom of the Dodgers’ lineup.

Lux, the reigning National League Player of the Week, provided an offensive spark once again, going 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs in the Dodgers’ 5-2 win over the Giants on Tuesday at Dodger Stadium, extending the team’s winning streak to five games.

During the Dodgers’ post-All-Star break streak, Lux has recorded three multihit games, totaling five extra-base hits.

"Just trying to be a little bit more aggressive," Lux said of his success. "Once you get a good pitch in the zone, try to end the at-bat there, move it forward, hope it hits the barrel. Overall, just trying to be aggressive with my swing, my load and try not to be safe. I think that’s the big takeaway I’ve had."

After missing the entire 2023 season with a torn ACL and LCL and significant damage to his right hamstring, Lux has had to work his way back not only mechanically, but also physically. It took him months before he finally felt confident enough to trust his surgically repaired knee. For the most part this season, Lux has worn protection on that knee, despite being told by doctors that it isn’t necessary.

As he learned to play through the mental and physical hurdles caused by the injury, Lux struggled out of the gate offensively. For a couple months, Lux would spend significant time watching his swing on the tablet and trying to break down his mechanics at every turn.

About three weeks ago, Lux said he watched some old video of himself and could see a significant difference. He realized he needed to stop worrying about his mechanics and his injured knee and start focusing on learning his body again and trying to resemble the player he was before the injury.

"Get your legs more under you and that’s really it, man,” Lux said. "There’s nothing really crazy different with the swing, just trying to use the ground better with my legs and be aggressive. That’s really it."

In his first at-bat of Tuesday’s game, Lux came up with two on and two outs against Giants right-hander Jordan Hicks. After falling behind in the count, Lux lined a two-run double into the right-field corner to give the Dodgers an early 2-0 lead. As he rounded the bases, Lux took off for third. He was thrown out by a few feet, but even that was another sign of Lux’s increased confidence.

"I think confidence is everything,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. "You can just see it in his at-bats. Today he got behind, it was a 2-2 sweeper that he stayed on and got a big hit for us and later in the game, hits a fastball and pulls it for a base hit. It just looks like he’s more confident out there. … It’s been really good, and when other guys have kind of tried to find their way, it’s been nice when other guys have stepped up. The last few weeks, Gavin’s been that guy."

The Dodgers haven’t had consistent production from the bottom of the order all season long, but getting Lux right would be a significant boost for Los Angeles. In 2022, Lux hit ninth most of the season and often served as a sparkplug for the top of the order.

Defensively, Lux has been sharp at second base throughout this season.

At a time when all the focus is on whom the Dodgers will target before the July 30 Trade Deadline, having the benefit of a more confident Lux could be just as important over the next two months.

"I think I finally have some mental peace that my knee is going to be fine,” Lux said. “Whatever happens, happens. I can’t control it. If it happens again, I’m going to go down aggressive. That’s just kind of the type of approach I’ve taken."