Gavin Lux was utterly stunned to make the final out of Game 3 of the NLDS on Monday night. He thought he had delivered a game-tying home run.
Lux was batting with two outs and his Los Angeles Dodgers losing 1-0 to the San Francisco Giants in the bottom of the ninth. Lux had a 1-0 count against Camilo Doval and caught a high fastball that he delivered to deep left-center. Lux thought for sure he had tied the game with a home run. Even Steven Duggar, who made the catch, was sprinting back like he thought it was going far, only to suddenly stop after the ball died.
Gavin Lux thought he had it but the ball stays in the park! Game over! pic.twitter.com/SARjmBs9IB
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) October 12, 2021
Lux’s reaction said it all. He was stunned.
The complete Gavin Lux stare and walkaway pic.twitter.com/Ic3WtuVNLY
— CJ Fogler 🫡 (@cjzero) October 12, 2021
And that is how the game ended.
So, why was Lux so surprised?
An extremely high percentage of balls hit as hard off the bat as his was, and with the launch angle he had, go for home runs. His did not.
Gavin Lux hit the final pitch of the game 106.9 mph and at a 22-degree launch angle. Batters this season, on balls hit 106-107 mph and at 22-degree launch, were 55 for 62 (.887) with 38 home runs. The Dodgers had four such hits this year. All were homers. Lux thought he had one.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 12, 2021
The winds at Dodger Stadium were terrible Monday night, and some of the worst many covering the team could remember. The National Weather Service even sent out high wind warnings. It’s quite likely that the wind knocked the ball down as it was in flight, preventing it from going as far as one typically would expect it to.
The Dodgers are now down 2-1 in the series after losing Game 3. The Giants, who had the best record in MLB in the regular season, will look to close out the series on Tuesday in Los Angeles.
