Dodgers’ batting lineup reverses fortunes against Nats starter Jake Irvin upon second encounter.
WASHINGTON — Gavin Lux’s journey from being a highly touted prospect blazing through the Dodgers’ farm system has become a distant memory, stretched out by a season lost to a significant knee injury and a sluggish start, batting .148, in his comeback this season.
However, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts offered a vote of confidence to the still-developing infielder before Wednesday’s game, indicating that it’s premature to react strongly to a slow start or reduce Lux’s playing time. Roberts suggested that anything less than 150 plate appearances isn’t “a fair gauge.”
On Wednesday night, the Dodgers’ offense delivered from top to bottom. Mookie Betts registered four hits, while Shohei Ohtani notched three doubles. Even Andy Pages, from the lower end of the lineup, contributed three hits, including a home run.
Lux, now nearly halfway to Roberts’ benchmark, might have needed a breakout performance more than anyone. He tallied two of the Dodgers’ 20 hits, including eight doubles, and drove in two runs as they defeated the Washington Nationals 11-2, marking their third consecutive win—a strong rebound following a lackluster 2-6 stretch at home.
It marked Lux’s first multi-hit game since March 30. His two RBIs on a single in the fifth inning doubled his RBI total for the season.
The game also signaled a reversal of fortunes for Nationals starter Jake Irvin, who had shut out the Dodgers on four hits in six innings at Dodger Stadium the previous week. In their second encounter, the Dodgers’ first 10 hitters exceeded that hit total against Irvin, who struggled this time, conceding 12 hits before Nats manager Davey Martinez replaced him in the fifth inning.
The Dodgers took an early lead when Ohtani doubled and scored on Will Smith’s two-out RBI single in the first inning. In the second inning, Lux ignited the offense with his first single, followed by Pages’ double, both scoring on Betts’ single.
Smith doubled and scored on Max Muncy’s RBI single in the third inning, and Lux delivered the final blow with his two-run single in the fifth, forcing Irvin out of the game.
Meanwhile, rookie starter Landon Knack fared much better than Irvin in repeating his half of their previous matchup. While Knack surrendered two first-inning runs in his major-league debut, he settled down, retiring 10 consecutive batters and finishing five innings with just those early runs.
This time, he stumbled in the second inning, loading the bases and walking in a run after giving up a home run to Nick Senzel. However, he regained control, retiring the final 13 batters he faced and claiming his first major-league win after six innings with no further damage.
The Dodgers sealed the victory with two runs in the eighth inning on consecutive doubles by Betts and Ohtani, following a solo home run by Pages, and added three more runs in the ninth.
