Sports
Gavin Lux is a key contributor in Dodgers' rout of Nationals
Back in the spring, Gavin Lux’s biggest problem was throwing the ball.
Then the regular season started, and the Dodgers’ once highly touted infielder suddenly looked unable to hit.
A month into his return from missing 2023 with a knee injury, Lux arrived at Nationals Park this week with just nine hits in 19 games, a .148 batting average that ranked 10th-worst in the majors among hitters with 50 at-bats, and a seemingly dwindling amount of time to reaffirm his place as a core member of the team.
Manager Dave Roberts hadn’t lost faith in Lux, the former first-round draft pick who underwent knee ligament surgery last March after a spring training injury.
But Lux’s own self-belief seemed to be wavering, after his defensive struggles in camp this year cost him his starting shortstop spot, and his poor start at the plate raised questions about his role as the regular second baseman near the bottom of the lineup.
“Baseball is so much mental,” Lux said
Which is why, in an 11-2 Dodgers win over the Washington Nationals on Wednesday night, Lux’s pair of ground-ball singles felt like something much more important to the trajectory of his season.
In a nine-run beatdown that featured four hits each from Mookie Betts and Will Smith, three doubles from Shohei Ohtani — who continues to lead the majors in batting average (.371), slugging percentage (.695) and OPS (1.128) — and a first career win for rookie pitcher Landon Knack, Lux wasn’t exactly the star of the night.
His first single came on a bouncing ball the other way in the second inning, finding a hole through the left side of the infield for just his third hit in the last two weeks.
His second knock was courtesy of even quieter contact, with Lux pulling a ground ball that bounced five times before evading the diving glove of second baseman Luis García Jr.
Still, in what was his first two-hit game since the opening week of the season, Lux’s hits carried a weight of significance.
He came around to score his first time on base, helping the Dodgers jump to an early 3-0 lead. Then, he all but ended the game with his two-out hit in the fifth, driving in a pair of runs — his first RBIs since April 13 — to turn a 4-2 nailbiter in a comfortable four-run Dodgers lead.
“That second hit with two outs was huge,” Roberts said. “That was a back-breaker for them.”
More than that, it was the first time in weeks — if not all season — Lux looked like the steady contributor he had been before his injury in 2022, coupling his improved defense at second (where he has yet to commit an error this year) with his once-signature ability to hit the ball to all parts of the field.
“I’d like to think today was something he could build on going forward,” Roberts said. “It was a really good step in the right direction.”
It was the kind of night Dodgers coaches had sensed was coming from the Lux; optimistic that despite his poor numbers — Lux also entered the game with 16 strikeouts, six walks and an OPS of just .388, seventh-worst in the majors — his swing was finally starting to trend positively.
During batting practice sessions in Washington on Tuesday (when Lux was off in the Dodgers’ series-opener) and Wednesday, Lux started hitting more line drives consistently to left field — a sign to hitting coach Aaron Bates he was rediscovering his pre-injury mechanics.
“He’s getting his feels back and seeing, mobility-wise, what he’s capable of doing,” Bates said, noting the difficult physical recalibration that comes with the torn ACL Lux suffered last year. “He’s a twitchy guy. So when’s comfortable staying on fastballs the other way, or staying through something soft [to the pull side], that’s what you want to look for.”
Lux had also been trying to reframe his mindset. He knew there would be rust after a year spent in rehabilitation mode. But as his early-season slump stretched into its fourth week, he tried to treat any little positive, such as a hard-hit out or clean defensive plays at second, as needed sources of self-belief.
“Especially when you’re slumping, you just trying to keep building momentum and then hopefully bring it into the next day,” said Lux, who has still started all but one game against opposing right-handed pitchers. “It’s a tough mental game, so you just gotta keep rolling.”
The Dodgers are giving Lux continued leeway to try and gain a head of steam.
Before the game, Roberts praised Lux’s work ethic, and said he wanted the infielder to get 150 plate appearances before making a sweeping evaluation about his game.
“Given that he hasn’t played in a year, I don’t think that any less is a fair gauge,” Roberts said. “I just don’t. It’s almost in line with a rookie. Not to say that he’s a rookie because he’s clearly not. But … you need a sample.”
By the end of Wednesday night, Lux was up to 72 plate appearances. And after most of the early ones had been mostly forgettable, he finally enjoyed one game of productive reprieve.
“You just got to keep going with it,” Lux said. “It’ll eventually even out.”
PHILADELPHIA — The scene could have been a replay from 48 hours earlier, but this time it went better for the New York Knicks.
With the Knicks up by a point and for the second time in three days hoping to close out an NBA first-round playoff series, Donte DiVincenzo stepped to the free-throw line. At this moment, they knew that far more important than a game of basketball was the telephone game.
Two nights earlier with the Knicks caught up in another tight battle with the Philadelphia 76ers, Josh Hart hit only one of two free throws, extending the Knicks’ lead to three with 15 seconds to go. Anyone who’s into drama knows what happened next: The Knicks didn’t intentionally foul, even though they were supposed to do so. Tyrese Maxey tied the score with a 3-pointer from Hoboken. And the 76ers won in overtime to extend the series to Game 6.
The Knicks said after Tuesday’s final buzzer that they miscommunicated. Head coach Tom Thibodeau wanted them to foul up three, but the message was not conveyed.
That was not about to happen again.
As DiVincenzo waited for the basketball, ready to shoot two free throws that could put the Knicks up three, Knicks players scrambled to one another, reminding each one of the situation. Everyone on the floor knew the plan: If DiVincenzo sank both freebies, they would intentionally foul.
This time, that’s exactly what they did.
DiVincenzo nailed them both. Miles “Deuce” McBride, the same person who failed to intentionally foul Tuesday, swiped at Maxey in the backcourt, long before he could toss up a prayer of a shot. The Knicks and Sixers traded off free throws. And it helped New York close out a 118-115 win and, more importantly, the series 4-2.
OG Anunoby celebrates a 3-pointer during Game 6 on Thursday against the 76ers. (Bill Streicher / USA Today)
“Sometimes when something like that happens, it crystalizes the thinking for everybody,” Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau said. “And we’re not gonna be perfect. We’re gonna make mistakes along the way. And I think you see that here.”
The Knicks will face the Indiana Pacers, which just polished off a six-game victory over the Milwaukee Bucks, in the second round of the playoffs. Game 1 is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. (ET) Monday.
New York will make mistakes in that series, too. Just like against Philly, it will have to learn from them.
Part of the reason the Knicks have made it this far — that they have won a playoff series for two consecutive seasons, the first time this franchise has accomplished that feat in 24 years — is that their blunders make them better.
They botched the end of Game 5, so they made sure not to do the same in Game 6.
On Thursday, they hit big shots. They fouled when they were supposed to do it. On another possession, when the Sixers ran a play inside the final minute with the Knicks up three, Thibodeau knew Philadelphia had to go for a triple.
Instead of leaving a conventional center on the floor as he did in Game 5 when Mitchell Robinson fouled Maxey on a four-point play, he subbed in McBride for a small, switch-everything lineup that pitted OG Anunoby at center. It got a stop.
The Knicks noticed what did not work, and they adjusted.
They placed various defenders on Maxey after he went for 46 points in Game 5. In Game 6, he scored only 17 points on 18 shots. In Game 6, DiVincenzo started on him.
They revised their double-teams of Joel Embiid. By the second half of Game 6, they were defending the reigning MVP straight up, not doubling except for in emergencies. Until then, they shook up where the double-teams came from, sometimes from two passes away, other times from the baseline.
The Knicks didn’t just win Game 6 because they had been there before.
Hart hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 25.6 seconds to go and finished with 16 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists. Anunoby went off in the second half, disrupting passing lanes and eviscerating Embiid on a fourth-quarter dunk. He finished with 19 points and nine boards. DiVincenzo rediscovered his shot, going for 23 points and seven assists while dropping in five 3-pointers.
And then there was Jalen Brunson, who splurged for 41 points and 12 assists. He has now scored 39-plus points in four consecutive playoff games, which is the first time that has happened since 1993 when Michael Jordan did it.
27-year-olds with 35+ PPG in the playoffs:
Michael Jordan
Elgin BaylorAnd Jalen Brunson. pic.twitter.com/Wcbc3hSRVh
— StatMuse (@statmuse) May 3, 2024
“This was a really big test for us and we were able to come out on top,” Brunson said. “Going forward … it might be a different test, maybe something completely different. But this definitely helps, and obviously, you want to learn while winning, so obviously we’re still playing and we want to get better.”
This is why the Knicks expressed no interest in tanking out of the No. 2 seed at the end of the season. Others in the league, such as the Cleveland Cavaliers, feared the 76ers, who cratered to seventh place while Embiid was hurt, enough to intentionally lose on the final day of the regular season. But New York wanted this position.
Now, this group is set up well because of its second-place finish.
The Knicks pushed and shoved their way past the Sixers in Round 1. They own home-court advantage in Round 2 — and they’d have it even if the Pacers hadn’t upset the Bucks. The Knicks — yes, the New York Knicks — will be the favorites to go to their first Eastern Conference finals since 2000.
But that doesn’t mean Indiana will be a picnic.
The Pacers glide through games. They are speed demons in transition. The Tyrese Haliburton-Myles Turner pick-and-pop is among the NBA’s most dangerous actions. The Knicks will encounter loads of problems in Round 2 they haven’t seen before.
A season ago, they faced a lower seed in the Eastern Conference semifinals, and it did not go well for them, losing to the Miami Heat in six. But the Knicks tend to learn from their mistakes.
It’s a good trait to boast come playoff time.
“In the playoffs, crazy stuff happens,” Thibodeau said. “And then it’s how you respond.”
(Top photo: Bill Streicher / USA Today)
The Miami Marlins’ tank seems to be on, despite it only being mid-May.
After making the postseason last year with a surprising 84-78 record, the Fish have looked like anything but a playoff team so far, losing 24 of their first 33 games.
Roughly 10 minutes before Luis Arraez was supposed to lead off for the Marlins in Oakland against the Athletics on Friday, he was reportedly traded to the San Diego Padres.
The Marlins quickly updated their lineup two minutes after the scheduled first pitch, making it all but officially official.
The Miami Marlins reportedly traded Luis Arraez (3) to the San Diego Padres during the team’s Friday game against the Oakland Athletics. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
The Padres are said to have traded four prospects for the back-to-back batting champion.
Arraez hit an MLB-leading .354 last season during his first year with the Marlins, who acquired him from the Minnesota Twins after he won the American League batting title in 2022 with a .316 average.
Arraez hit an MLB-leading .354 last season during his first year with the Marlins. (AP Photo/Peter Joneleit)
JULIO URIAS AVOIDS JAIL TIME IN DOMESTIC CASE AFTER PLEADING NO CONTEST
The Venezuelan infielder boasted a .400 average into late-June, a feat no one had accomplished since 2008 (Ted Williams remains the last player to hit .400 in a season, way back in 1941).
It’s yet another infielder for the Padres, who already have Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts, Ha-Seong Kim, Tyler Wade and Fernando Tatis Jr., the latter of whom had to move to the outfield due to the infield abundance.
Arraez finished in eighth in NL MVP voting last year and 13th in the AL vote in 2022, earning a Silver Slugger Award at second base each season.
This season, so far, he is “only” hitting .299.
Arraez won a Silver Slugger award in 2022 and again last season. (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
The Marlins, entering Friday, were on pace for a 44-118 record.
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SOUTHERN SECTION PLAYOFFS
BASEBALL
Tuesday, May 7
(All games at 3:15 p.m. unless noted)
Division 1
Second Round
Corona at Mater Dei
Aquinas at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame
Huntington Beach at Villa Park
Gahr at Santa Margarita
Orange Lutheran at Vista Murrieta
La Mirada at Santa Ana Foothill
Cypress at San Dimas
Harvard-Westlake at Bonita
Division 2
Second Round
Westlake at West Torrance
Arcadia at Yorba Linda
Hart at Newport Harbor
Arlington at Palos Verdes
Maranatha at Ayala
Anaheim Canyon at Quartz Hill
Moorpark at Valencia
Citrus Valley at Crown Lutheran
Division 3
Second Round
Corona Centennial at Arrowhead Christian
El Modena at South Torrance
Fountain Valley at El Segundo
Corona del Mar at St. John Bosco
Chaminade at Mission Viejo
Los Alamitos at La Salle
Beckman at La Habra
Summit at Newbury Park
Division 4
Second Round
Camarillo at Murrieta Valley
Los Osos at Cerritos
San Marino at Oak Hills
Culver City at Eastvale Roosevelt
Tustin at Palm Desert
Rio Mesa at Ontario Christian
La Quinta at Paraclete
San Juan Hills at St. Francis
Division 5
Second Round
Ganesha at Santa Monica
Adelanto at Trinity Classical Academy
Segerstrom at Riverside Prep
Oxnard Pacifica at Whittier Christian
Santa Ana Calvary Chapel at Monrovia
Lakeside at Chino
Montebello at Liberty
Bloomington at Chino Hills
Division 6
Second Round
Costa Mesa at West Covina
Village Christian at Brentwood
St. Paul at Diamond Bar
Alhambra at Grand Terrace
Salesian at Schurr
Rancho Mirage at St. Bonaventure
Santa Fe at Viewpoint
Colony at Rialto
Division 7
Second Round
Buena Park at Hueneme
Banning at Rancho Christian
South El Monte at Artesia
Oakwood at Mary Star
Wildomar Cornerstone Christian at Santa Ana
Leuzinger at Lancaster Desert Christian
Jurupa Valley at Chaffey
Silverado at Oxford Academy
Division 8
Second Round
Orange County Pacifica Christian at United Christian Academy
New Roads at San Jacinto Valley
Coachella Valley at Don Bosco Tech
Rancho Alamitos at San Bernardino
Santa Maria Valley Christian at Arroyo Valley
Edgewood at Beverly Hills
Cal Lutheran at Santa Clarita Christian
Academy of Careers & Exploration at Azusa
SOFTBALL
Tuesday, May 7
(All games at 3:15 p.m. unless noted)
Division 1
First Round
Capistrano Valley at Orange Lutheran
Camarillo at Anaheim Canyon
Huntington Beach at Riverside Poly
Chino Hills at Murrieta Mesa
Great Oak at Norco
JSerra at La Mirada
Oaks Christian at Los Alamitos
South Hills at Garden Grove Pacifica
Division 2
Second Round
El Modena at Mater Dei
Beaumont at Ayala
Tesoro at Gahr
Rio Mesa at Temple City
Rosary Academy at California
Whittier Christian at Cypress
Valley View at Aliso Niguel
La Serna at Valencia
Division 3
Second Round
West Torrance at Arlington
Woodbridge at Fullerton
Redondo Union at Sierra Canyon
Etiwanda at La Canada
Santa Fe at Aquinas
Bishop Amat at King
Royal at Charter Oak
Agoura at Upland
Division 4
Second Round
Norwalk at JW North
Oaks Hills at Jurupa Hills
Downey at Chaminade
Schurr at Mira Costa
Paraclete at San Marcos
La Quinta at Santa Monica
Sultana at Diamond Bar
Crescenta Valley at Orange Vista
Division 5
Second Round
Palos Verdes at West Ranch
Quartz Hill at Carter
Liberty at Keppel
Grace Brethren at Garden Grove
Burbank Providence at South El Monte
Cerritos Valley Christian at Shadow Hills
Paloma Valley at Linfield Christian
Fillmore at St. Bonaventure
Division 6
Second Round
Harvard-Westlake at Ganesha
Granite Hills at Lancaster
Indio at Santa Ana Calvary Chapel
Garden Grove Santiago at Lakewood St. Joseph
Viewpoint at Pioneer
University Prep at Mayfield
Canyon Springs at Capistrano Valley Christian
Paramount at Tahquitz
Division 7
Second Round
Hawthorne MSA at Oxford Academy
Miller at Los Amigos
Faith Baptist at Yucca Valley
Pasadena Poly at Riverside Prep
Lennox Academy at Eastside
Vista Del Lago at Cathedral City
Academy of Careers & Exploration at Leuzinger
Orangewood Academy at Muir
Division 8
Quarterfinals
Wildomar Cornerstone Christian at Hesperia Christian
Temecula Prep at Orange
United Christian Academy at Excelsior Charter
Jurupa Valley at Archer
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