The Dodgers bats were on fire Sunday and not only did they put the “W” in Win, but also got the win for their outstanding Women’s Day at the Ballpark pregame activities.

The Boys in Blue beat Miami 10-3 to secure the three-game sweep, giving them a Major League-best 84-36 overall record against the National League’s leading 2022 Cy Young award candidate – 26-year-old Marlins All-Star right-hander Sandy Alcántara, who entered the day with an MLB-best 1.92 ERA.

Much of the day’s ‘luck’ was attributed to the players’ wives for picking their walk-up songs sung by popular female artists in honor of the day’s celebration, and the fun that naturally ensued.

As for the game itself, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts gave some insight into the team’s mindset before the game.

“I think speaking honestly, I think that when you see his name (Alcantara) on the probables, you dread it. And then the day of the game, you look forward to it because there’s no other way to go. I think that you look at it and it’s going to be a good challenge, and then now, when you get into the day, it’s like, ‘I’m excited’.”

If the Dodgers were nervous before the matchup against the National League’s top Cy Young Award candidate, they did not show it. The group got into the swing of things (literally) by scoring first on catcher Will Smith’s RBI single to bring in right-fielder Mookie Betts, drawing first blood in the bottom of the first inning.

However, before the Blue Crew could even show off their offensive prowess, the defense was on full display in the top of the first inning as players backed up Dodgers rookie pitcher Ryan Pepiot. This was Pepiot’s seventh start of the season while filling in gaps left in the starting rotation. He ramped up by walking a batter, striking out two, and hitting another before left fielder Joey Gallo made a stellar play to end the inning.

With two outs and runners at the corners in the top of the first inning, Marlins right fielder Brian Anderson smacked a ball to directly in front of the two-time former Gold Glove winner. Gallo scooped up the ball on a bounce and fired a laser shot passed the cutoff man and straight into Will Smith’s glove to nail Marlins second baseman Joey Wendle at the plate to end the threat and the inning.

Pepiot got out of the inning with a clean slate and went on to pitch six solid innings, allowing two runs on four hits, with both runs coming on a two-run home run by Marlins first baseman Lewin Díaz in the top of the fourth inning. The 25-year-old Indianapolis, IN native and Dodgers third-round draft pick in 2019 out of Butler University finished his day with seven strikeouts while walking only two, to lower his ERA to 4.02. Coincidentally, Alcantara lasted only 3.2 innings before the Marlins had to dig into their own bullpen. He was charged with six runs – all earned – and now owns an MLB fourth-best 2.19 ERA.

Roberts shared his thoughts with the media during his postgame interview.

“I think the most impressive part was just the at-bat quality,” Roberts said about his team’s potent offense that included 16 hits. “A guy that you know usually goes really deep in the game, to stress him like that (batters) one through nine, to win pitches, to kind of keep the line moving. There weren’t walks in there, just continue to put the ball in play and take at-bats. In particular, I thought Gallo had some really nice at-bats against (Alcantar). Guys fed off of that.”

Since Gallo’s arrival in Los Angeles at the trade deadline, he has progressively improved at the plate. Sunday, he tripled and singled, eventually coming in to score on both. After his stellar throw in the first, he made a spectacular sliding catch in the top of the third inning when Wendle swatted a ball near the left field line.

“I like to play on both sides of the ball,” Gallo told SportsNet LA’s Kirsten Watson postgame. “I think it’s really important to be able to play defense. So, I think for me, I really want to work for the pitchers. You know they’re always working their butts off, so I think the least that we can do is give 100 percent out there. So, I was happy that I was able to help the team in that aspect and help Ryan get out of a couple innings. So, you know, hopefully we can keep that going.”

Gallo was surprised when Watson informed him that this was his first multi-hit game as a Dodger.

“Wow, I didn’t know that,” Gallo replied humbly when informed of this. “I’ve been feeling pretty good. Like I said, we have a great team, so it’s easy to come in here and take at-bats and just try to be a team guy. But yeah, things went my way today and went our way this whole series, so it’s exciting.”

In the last twenty games, the Dodgers are 17-3 against their opponents. Many agreed that the updated walk-up songs may have given the team a new edge. Some players even joked after the game that they may keep the songs chosen by their significant others as their walk-up songs moving forward.

New music and small ball won the day, as the entire team showed up to help move each other down the line.

With forty-two games remaining in the regular season, here’s to the team continuing to collect wins on the field.

Let’s go Dodgers!

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