Nick Lodolo shuts out Washington Nationals, Reds avoid sweep
Cincinnati Reds LHP Nick Lodolo (8-6, 3.08 ERA) pitched a 4-hitter to beat the Nationals and avert a sweep for the Reds July 23.
Have the Cincinnati Reds won the Gavin Lux trade yet?
The short answer is that it depends on how University of Arkansas outfielder Charles Davalan develops over the next few years.
Davalan is the undersized, Canadian-born lefty hitter the Los Angeles Dodgers drafted 42nd overall with the competitive-balance pick the Reds traded (with a Class A outfielder) for Lux in January.
As far as the Reds are concerned, the answer should come in the next couple of months when they see the full-season impact Lux has on their playoff ambitions.
For now, with the Dodgers in town this week for the Reds’ first look at the defending champs, the Reds like the impact of the versatile, lefty-hitting Lux on a team that rode a 10-4 heater into the big series at Great American Ball Park — Lux going 11-for-31 (.355) with a .375 on-base percentage over his last nine games during that stretch.
“He’s a great kid. He’s done a really good job. And we’re thrilled he’s here,” Reds manager Terry Francona said. “That’s kind of an understatement.”
The Dodgers’ former first-round draft pick was part of Reds offseason that emphasized bringing in veterans familiar with October baseball, including catcher Jose Trevino in a trade from the Yankees and left-fielder Austin Hays as a free agent.
Lux wasn’t expected to be Juan Soto. Or even the kind of additions Nick Castellanos or Jeimer Candelario were touted to be when the Reds signed them in recent years. He’s mostly a platoon starter who hits right-handers especially well.
But he knows winning. And he knows hitting.
And former Dodgers teammates know that well.
“Luxy was always a super talented player,” Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy said. “As we’ve seen with multiple people, sometimes a change of scenery is all that you need.
“Playing in L.A. is not easy,” Muncy added. “There’s a lot of expectations, a lot of pressure. Sometimes you can lost in that a little bit, and I don’t know if that’s what happened to Luxy or not. But it’s one of those things where, for me, you always knew what kind of player he could be.”
Not that Lux was especially lost in his career. Or that he’s necessarily found now in any profound way. Or even that he could benefit from a change of scenery.
“I have no clue for me it it’s helped or it hasn’t,” Lux said. “All I know is I feel really comfortable with these guys in this clubhouse and the staff. It’s been fun to be part of.”
Lux, who has two World Series rings with the Dodgers, was made available a year after missing all of 2023 because of a knee injury when the Dodgers closed a deal with South Korean free agent second baseman Hyeseong Kim ($12.5 million, three years) a few days before sending Lux to the Reds.
“He never quite reached that potential with us, but it doesn’t mean that anyone in here gave up on him,” Muncy said. “Everyone in here knew that he could be a special player.”
As the Reds opened the Dodgers series with Lux batting fifth as the DH, the Kenosha, Wisconsin, native was on pace for career highs in games, hits and walks, with a .271 average within five points of a career high and a .355 on-base percentage that would be a career-high if he sustains it.
“Gavin has the hit tool. He’s always had it,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I just feel that the change of scenery was going to free him up and allow him to get to another level. It’s nice when it’s a win-win for both organizations, and I couldn’t be more excited to see the success he’s having.
“We’re really excited about the guys that we acquired, and I’m happy he’s playing for Tito and he’s thriving.”
Change of scenery again?
“Obviously, the big market is a pressure cooker at times,” Lux said. “As a younger guy it took me awhile to not put so much pressure oh myself, where it felt like at times when I was younger, even at times last year coming off the injury, it was like if I don’t perform I’m not going to play.”
The change to a new team in a different market hasn’t changed any of the drive or effort that showed up in a hot second half last year after he regained confidence in his surgically repaired knee.
But maybe something as simple as a fresh start has provided a benefit, especially in a place with more potential opportunities to contribute.
“Obviously, it’s a little bit different,” Lux said. “But I think that I’ve just learned over the years how I operate and that when I’m playing free without worry and just enjoying and having fun and playing baseball – as cliché as that sounds – that’s when I’m at my best.
“I think that self-awareness has helped me a lot,” he said. “I can catch myself now when I start to stress over a couple of at-bats. And I don’t go down that roller coaster of emotions. I think it just took me a while to learn that. But the environment is definitely part of that, too.”
If there’s any question about whether Lux has hard feelings toward the team that traded him after winning a World Series last year, that question fades quickly talking to members of the mutual admiration club of Lux and guys in the Dodgers clubhouse.
“I personally had a great relationship with Gavin,” said Dodgers coach Dino Ebel, who worked with Lux on the infield in recent years and still texts with him – and who’s known as “Uncle Dino” to Lux. “We all believed he could hit. We believe it’s in there. That’s why he was our No. 1 pick. I’m glad it’s starting to happen.”
Said Lux: “I’ve got nothing but love for everyone over there.”
Lux, 27, is in his professional athletic prime with another year of club control for the Reds.
Wherever this year goes for him and the Reds – or next year for that matter – about the only thing that’s clear is the shared vision.
“I told Tito the first day of spring: ‘I don’t care where you play me. Just throw me out there, and I’ll try to find a way to get it down and help the team win.’ That’s really all I care about.”