As the Los Angeles Dodgers prepare to start their postseason against the Cincinnati Reds in the Wild Card round on Tuesday, there will be an old friend in the opposing dugout in Gavin Lux.
The 27-year-old Lux was drafted by the Dodgers in the first round of the 2016 MLB Draft and debuted with the team in 2019. He helped the team hoist two World Series trophies before he was traded this past offseason to Cincinnati.
Since then, he has had a productive season at the plate, batting .269 with a career-best 53 RBIs. Although there is tons of history with him and the city of Los Angeles, Lux is only thinking about how his team dropped five of six games to the defending champions this year, and how he is out for some revenge.
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“I think the last time we played them, I think they caught us at a bad time,” Lux said. “We were struggling, we didn’t score a lot of runs. We kind of struggled offensively.”
Although the intensity of playoff baseball is second to none, Lux has the unique experience of starting the first postseason away from the only team he has ever known by facing off against his old employers.
There will certainly be emotions, but Lux has his eye on advancing through October.
“I think I’ve kind of gotten past all that,” Lux said. “Obviously I spent a decade here in this org. Really grateful for everything they did for me. But no, I think I’m ready to get out there and try to kick their you-know-whats.”
The Dodgers will do everything in their power to ensure that the Lux homecoming won’t slow down their run to become baseball’s first back-to-back champions in 25 years, but it all starts with Tuesday evening. Lux isn’t in the starting lineup on Tuesday, though, with the left-handed Blake Snell on the mound.
Photo Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
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