Reinvigorated Gavin Lux stays hot as Dodgers hit six home runs to sweep Red Sox

Dave Roberts didn’t mention Gavin Lux by name when discussing the Dodgers’ infield plans a few weeks ago.

Given the makeup of their roster, he didn’t need to.

When asked on July 3 about the potential of playing Mookie Betts at second base once Betts returns from a broken hand, Roberts was careful to make no guarantees.

“I’m gonna use as much time as possible [before making a decision],” Roberts said. “Because you have to appreciate the people that it could affect.”

No one, of course, stood to be affected as much as Lux. He had gotten all of his playing time this season at second base. And, in the event Betts returned as the everyday second baseman, he seemed most poised to be squeezed out of playing time, given his disappointing play this season in his return from knee surgery.

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“There’s no sense in me talking about,” Roberts said, “to potentially get into the psyche of another player.”

Roberts might not have addressed it publicly. But in the last couple of days, Lux has looked like a player motivated to change the narrative, following up a big performance Saturday with another highlight showing Sunday that keyed the Dodgers’ 9-6 win over the Boston Red Sox.

In the first inning Sunday, Lux helped the Dodgers erase an early two-run deficit by lining an RBI double down the left-field line, collecting his third-straight extra-base hit after hitting a home run and a double in a Saturday night win.

Three innings later, Lux struck again, lifting an opposite-field home run to left that gave the Dodgers a 4-2 lead en route to their sweep-clinching victory at Dodger Stadium.

Lux finished the day three for four overall (he also stole a base) to raise his batting average to .225 (tying his high mark on the year) and OPS to .609 (the highest it has been at any point this season).

On the whole, Lux’s numbers are still underwhelming. Two years removed from his breakout 2022 campaign — when he batted .276, had an above-league-average OPS+ and led the NL with seven triples — the 26-year-old has yet to consistently become a bottom-of-the-order sparkplug again, thanks in no small part to the torn ACL he suffered last spring.

However, there have been signs his swing is trending upward.

Since crossing the 150 at-bat threshold on May 31 — the marker Roberts wanted Lux to reach before making sweeping evaluations of his game — the infielder is batting .250 with six doubles, four homers, 15 RBIs and a .700 OPS in 31 games.

His defense at second base, the position he moved back to this spring after defensive struggles at shortstop, has been superb.

And, even with Betts now just weeks away from a return, Lux’s role on the roster remains important — especially after starting shortstop Miguel Rojas exited Sunday’s game early because of forearm tightness in his right throwing arm.

Lux wasn’t alone in leading the Dodgers to a series sweep of the Red Sox.

The Dodgers hit a season-high six home runs, with Freddie Freeman, Teoscar Hernández, Austin Barnes, Jason Heyward and Shohei Ohtani also going deep on a warm afternoon at Chavez Ravine. Ohtani’s 473-foot blast in the fifth nearly cleared the roof above the right-field pavilion, marking his National League-leading 30th homer of the year.

On the mound, James Paxton bounced back from a two-run first-inning homer by Jarren Duran to pitch into the sixth, giving up just one more run in his longest start in more than a month. Daniel Hudson, meanwhile, got the save after closer Evan Phillips gave up three runs in the ninth (he’s given up nine earned runs in his last eight outings).

And, after dropping six of seven games entering this week’s All-Star break, the Dodgers emerged from it with their first three-game winning streak since late June, pushing their lead in the NL West to eight games.

Still, Lux’s sudden offensive explosion could have the biggest ramifications on the Dodgers’ long-term outlook.

If he stays hot, he could warrant continued at-bats against right-handed pitching, with Betts perhaps playing shortstop on those days (Betts was the Dodgers’ everyday shortstop before his hand fracture).

If Rojas is forced to miss any extended time, Lux might become an everyday player himself, a distinction he hasn’t enjoyed for any prolonged stretch yet this season.

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There are trade ramifications, too, with the deadline looming next Tuesday.

A struggling Lux might have prompted the Dodgers to look for more infield help. Given his diminished playing time, it’s possible Lux could have been a trade chip himself.

But the Dodgers had not yet lost faith in their former first-round draft pick. They’d been holding out hope that, at some point, he’d overcome his slow start and be an important piece in their plans to contend for a World Series.

This weekend, Lux flashed long-awaited signs that level of play is still possible.

For the first time in a long time, he looked like someone who could still be a key cog in their lineup.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.