Dodgers Team News

Dodgers: Dave Roberts Offers Words of Encouragement for Gavin Lux After Error in Game 3

The Dodgers have not made things easy this postseason, but a miraculous 8th inning rally on Tuesday against the Atlanta Braves has them positioned to tie the series at two games apiece. It’s made for incredibly good television, but I can’t say that fans have had as much fun going through so many nailbiters already.

It’s been an up and down journey so far, but one area of concern for many fans has been seeing Gavin Lux in the outfield on a daily basis. With the loss of Max Muncy, the Dodgers were forced to improvise their lineup construction. The solution thus far has been to move Cody Bellinger to the infield while playing Gavin Lux in right and center field.



While this does give the lineup some extra thump, it leaves them vulnerable defensively as Lux had never logged a professional inning in the outfield prior to this season. This defensive liability was on full display Tuesday afternoon, as Lux dropped a fly ball up against the outfield wall in an inning where the Braves plated 4 total runs.

Related: Walker Buehler Backs Up Gavin Lux After Miscue in Game 3

While the Dodgers won the game, the error seemed monumental when it happened. It wasn’t Lux’s first miscue in the outfield, and it was enough to make many question Dave Roberts’ decision to keep running him out there. Roberts made sure to credit his young star the next day, acknowledging that his willingness to even play a new position should be applauded.

I think it’s a credit to him, willing to do whatever it takes to help us win. And it’s not easy to be in a position that you haven’t played a whole lot of, certainly in this stage. On the heels of what happened yesterday, it takes a tough ballplayer to withstand that stuff.. I feel good with Gavin out there and I expect him to make the plays.

When asked about what kind of conversation he had with Gavin after the error, Roberts showed the kind of leadership that has made him a favorite among Dodger players over the years.

I just told him a couple of innings after ‘You’re going to be in there tomorrow, and I don’t want you to be careful. Keep playing.’

The Dodgers are running on fumes after an exhausting regular season, but they still continue to find ways to get it done. Gavin Lux moving positions is just the latest example of their ‘whatever it takes’ mentality, and while it may be a bumpy road for the young player, it’s one that will hopefully lead to another title in 2021.

Daniel Palma

Daniel is an avid sports fan who loves his hometown teams. If he's not watching baseball, you can find him playing or coaching. No matter what, he'll always root for the Boys in Blue!

4 Comments

  1. Again Roberts puts players in a position to fail. Put Lux where he belongs, at second base if he is hitting better than Trea Turner. Take out Justin who is not hitting and hurting and put Seager on third.

    1. I really hope that Roberts will be fired. If we loose tonight, it will be his fault.

  2. Lux has no business being in the line up. Put the players in their best positions to succeed. He puts players in where they don’t belong, pitching and fielding and they fail. I guess he likes to cross his fingers after he makes the line up. Mookie should always be in right field. He put Souza in right and we blew the 1st game. Mookie would have thrown out the tying run easily. Souza thew the ball in the grass from shallow right and bounced into home and it was still close. Mookie would have thrown a strike no bounces and easy out. He threw one from farther out in the next game and the guy didn’t run, but it was a strike to home on a fly. We should have never lost that game. The bad pitching calls is also killing the dodgers.

  3. The Dodgers were NOT forced to put Lux in the outfield. The didn’t even put Pollock in the game. Tell it like it is. Don’t sugar coat all the bad decisions.

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