Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Gavin Lux left Game 1 of the National League Championship Series on Sunday with hip flexor tightness in a precautionary move, according to the Dodgers.
Lux went 0 for 1 with a walk and scored a run on Shohei Ohtani’s second-inning single. It’s unclear how he suffered the injury, but Lux was removed after grounding out in the fifth inning and playing an uneventful inning at second base in the sixth.
Lux also laid down a sacrifice bunt in the fourth inning. The Dodgers won Game 1, 9-0, to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven NLDS.
Kevin Kiermaier took Lux’s place in the lineup, batting eighth and playing center field. Kiké Hernández moved in from center field to take over at second base.
Lux is hitting .263 (5 for 19) in six postseason games for the Dodgers.
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The regular season was a healthy one for Lux, who missed all of last season with a major knee injury. His recovery from a torn ACL and MCL in spring training in Feb. 2023 bled into 2024. Lux struggled at shortstop in spring training, was moved to second base, and was struggling to hit his weight for much of the first half of the season.
But he hit .309 with a .396 OBP and .517 slugging percentage from July 20 onward, a span of 60 games. That not only locked Lux into the starting lineup for the remainder of the regular season and postseason, it effectively forced the Dodgers to hold onto Lux at the trade deadline amid rumors he might be dealt.
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A first-round draft pick by the Dodgers in 2016, Lux is entering his fifth postseason with Los Angeles. He entered Sunday’s game with a career .236 batting average in the MLB playoffs, with two home runs and five RBIs in 23 games.
In the regular season, Lux is a .252 hitter with 28 home runs, 155 RBIs and 19 steals in 412 career games (2019-24).
Lux went 5 for 18 (.278) with three runs in the Dodgers’ five-game NLDS victory over the San Diego Padres.
More news: Dodgers Set NL Postseason Record for Most Consecutive Scoreless Innings
The Dodgers entered the NLCS having thrown 24 consecutive scoreless innings to eliminate the Padres.
Sunday, their shutout win over the Mets matched the 1966 Baltimore Orioles for the longest streak of consecutive scoreless innings in a single postseason at 33.
The Dodgers and Mets play Monday in Game 2 of the NLCS at Dodger Stadium.
For more MLB postseason news, visit Newsweek Sports.
