Dave Roberts wasn’t quite ready to bench struggling second baseman Gavin Lux in favor of Kiké Hernández, but Lux began to test the Dodgers manager’s patience as his slump continued into the third week and the playoffs approached.

Lux was one of the best hitters in baseball for the seven weeks following the All-Star break, posting a .347 batting average with a 1.043 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, seven homers, 14 doubles and 21 RBIs in 40 games from July 20 through Sept. 4. But that bat went into deep freeze this month, with the left-handed-hitting Lux hitting .111 (four-for-36) with a .378 OPS, no extra-base hits and three RBIs in 16 games from Sept. 6 through Tuesday night.

Hernández has hit .291 with an OPS of .855, four homers, three doubles and 10 RBIs in 22 games since Aug. 23. Has Roberts considered giving the right-handed-hitting Hernández more starts against righties?

“It’s been a tough few weeks for Gavin, but I think he’s performed really well since he started and I’m going to give him every opportunity to start against right-handers in the postseason,” Roberts said before Wednesday night’s game against the San Diego Padres.

Gavin Lux emerged from a slump on Wednesday with two hits.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

“I think his mindset is consistent and it’s my job to keep inspiring confidence. Having Kiké available in any position is huge, but that’s not what I’m thinking about right now.”

Roberts’ faith in Lux was rewarded Wednesday night when Lux hit a tying single to center field with two outs in the fourth inning and a single in the eighth in a 4-3 victory over the Padres that put the Dodgers on the brink of their 11th National League West title in 12 years.

“I try to have a good mindset, that I want to be in that position, that I can get a big hit with two outs and not be afraid to blow it,” Lux said after the Dodgers extended their division lead to three games with four games to go. “You know, just wanting that opportunity and embracing it.

“It’s a playoff mentality. You’ve got to do everything you can to win and compete, you’ve got to forget about how bad your mechanics feel and just go play baseball.”

The Dodgers trailed 2-1 in the fourth inning when Tommy Edman hit a two-out double to right-center field. Lux took two balls before hitting a 95-mph fastball from Dylan Cease into center field to score Edman for a 2-2 tie. Shohei Ohtani capped the rally with a double to right for a 3-2 lead.

“He made me look good tonight,” Roberts said of Lux. “I trust him. I trust all of our guys. Tommy’s been struggling and he came up with a big hit, and Gavin was a really big hit for us tonight.”

Lux missed all of last season after tearing two ligaments in his right knee in a freak base-hitting accident during spring training, and he admitted he over-indulged the surgically repaired knee upon his return this season. The result was a more tentative swing with softer contact, leading to a .213 average, .563 OPS, three home runs, eight doubles and 24 RBI in 78 games before the All-Star break.

Lux adjusted his mindset and approach in the week leading up to the break — “I don’t think it’s a swing change, I just try to be more aggressive and when I get a decent pitch, I hit it with a good swing,” he said — and the results were almost immediate.

Lux was voted player of the week in the NL at the start of the second half of the season and continued to dominate the competition until early September, when he fell into a slump.

“There’s a little bit of a passivity sometimes on breaking balls early, there’s more swing and miss, and probably a little bit more chasing,” Roberts said. “I’d like to think there’s no loss of confidence.”

Lux didn’t find his offensive mentality diminishing, but opposing pitchers began to attack him differently.

“I’m getting a lot of backdoor spin, a lot of changeups and splits,” Lux said. “It’s that cat-and-mouse game where you take one thing away and then they go to what you’re not hitting. I was probably too slow to adjust and got caught in the middle. But I think I’m moving in the right direction and coming up with a game plan and an approach that works.”

Gavin Lux disagrees with referee Andy Fletcher over a strike decision on Wednesday.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

Lux, a .203 batting average and .555 OPS hitter in 279 plate appearances against lefties, has struggled against them this season, hitting .156 with an OPS of .402 in 49 plate appearances. These struggles have limited him to a platoon role with Hernández and Chris Taylor.

“Any baseball player would tell you that the more you play, the more you get into a good, consistent rhythm, the more you can feel things,” Lux said. “But at the end of the day, I can’t make excuses. I’ve got to be better against lefties if I want to be out there every day.”

The Dodgers have been locked in a fierce division battle with San Diego and Arizona all summer, so Roberts hasn’t had the luxury of giving Lux more room to play against lefties.

“It’s tough on a hitter when you’re not getting those looks, but I think we’ve had better options (against lefties), honestly,” Roberts said. “I do believe Gavin is going to hit left-handed pitchers, and he’s going to be a regular player going forward. But I think his splits this year, that’s more my fault, given his lack of opportunities.”