Dodgers leave Cy Young favorite Sandy Alcantara buried and beaten in sweeping win
Last week, the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner got through only five-plus innings before being chased by the Dodgers’ dominant offense.
On Sunday, this year’s Cy Young front-runner couldn’t even complete four.
In his worst start of an otherwise stellar season, Miami Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara was battered, beaten and eventually buried by the Dodgers in a 10-3 win, which completed a three-game weekend sweep in front of 41,125 at Dodger Stadium.
In a season-short 3⅔ innings, Alcantara was tagged with a season-high in runs (six) and hits (10).
He lost possession of the National League’s ERA lead, falling behind the Dodgers’ Tony Gonsolin after his mark rose from 1.92 to 2.19.
Final: Dodgers win 10-3 to complete series sweep of Marlins
The Dodgers tacked on three late insurance runs to complete a three-game sweep of the Marlins with a 10-3 win.
They are now 84-36 on the season.
Final: Dodgers 10, Marlins 3
Ryan Pepiot completes best MLB start, while Max Muncy extends lead with home run
After completing six innings for the first time in his big-league career, Ryan Pepiot was greeted with a round fo high fives in the Dodgers dugout.
His final line: 6 innings, 2 runs, 4 hits, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts (also a season-high for the rookie).
His ERA in seven starts this season is now 4.02.
Max Muncy, meanwhile, added to the Dodgers lead with a solo home run in the seventh. He now has 16 home runs this season, and seven in August, tying Paul Goldschmidt for the most in the majors this month.
End 7th: Dodgers lead 7-2
Ryan Pepiot gives up homer, but then Dodgers knock Sandy Alcantara out of game
The Marlins got on the board with a leadoff walk and a two-run home run from Lewin Díaz in the fourth.
The Dodgers, however, immediately got the two runs back, scoring twice in the bottom of the inning to knock Sandy Alcantara out of the game early.
Alcantara was lifted after just 3 2/3 innings, following an RBI single from Mookie Betts and RBI ground-rule double from Will Smith.
It marked the most runs (six), most hits (10) and fewest innings the Cy Young Award favorite has posted all year.
End 4th: Dodgers lead 6-2
Dodgers extend lead on Cody Bellinger home run
With two outs in the second, Sandy Alcantara didn’t get much help from his defense, when right fielder Brian Anderson failed to track down a Joey Gallo triple at the wall in right field.
In the next at-bat, Cody Bellinger made the Marlins pay, hammering an inside fastball into the right field pavilion for a two-run homer.
That made it 3-0, then the Dodgers tacked on again in the third on an RBI single from Max Muncy — becoming the first team this season to score a run against Alcantara in each of the first three innings of a game.
End 3rd: Dodgers lead 4-0
Joey Gallo throws out runner, then Will Smith gives Dodgers early lead
There was a leadoff walk by Ryan Pepiot and a failed Dodgers challenge on a hit by pitch.
Yet, the escaped the top of the first unscathed thanks to Joey Gallo, who fielded a two-out single in left field and threw out a runner at home plate to end the inning.
It allowed the Dodgers to open the scoring in the bottom of the frame, when Mookie Betts singled, stole second and scored on an RBI base hit from Will Smith.
Overall, the Dodgers made Sandy Alcantara throw 27 pitches in the inning — after he entered the day averaging only 14.2 per inning.
End 1st: Dodgers lead 1-0
Injury updates: Brusdar Graterol to be activated Monday
Right-handed reliever Brusdar Graterol will be activated on Monday, manager Dave Roberts said, after missing the last month with a shoulder injury.
Graterol was back with the Dodgers on Sunday after returning from a rehab assignment with triple A Oklahoma City.
Other Dodger injury updates:
- Clayton Kershaw (back) won’t need a rehab assignment after all, Roberts said. Kershaw will instead throw a bullpen of about 30 pitches in the coming days, then have a three to four inning simulated game against some of the team’s hitters.
- Roberts said reliever Blake Treinen (shoulder) is scheduled to make another outing in his rehab assignment on Sunday, and that he remains on track for an early September return.
Dodgers go for sweep against NL Cy Young favorite Sandy Alcantara
If the Dodgers are going to complete a weekend sweep against the Miami Marlins today, they’ll have to do it against perhaps the best pitcher in baseball this season.
Right-hander Sandy Alcantara will take the mound, entering the game with a 11-5 record and MLB-best ERA of 1.92 ERA and innings total of 173.
The 26-year-old has thrown the full nine innings four times, thrown at least seven innings in 17 of his 24 starts and has one of the hardest fastballs in the game, sitting at almost 98 mph.
The Dodgers will counter with right-hander Ryan Pepiot (1-0, 4.26 ERA) and a left-handed heavy lineup:
ICYMI: Dustin May thrives in his return from Tommy John surgery as Dodgers blank Marlins
Tommy John surgery is so common, with hundreds of pitchers from high school to the big leagues undergoing the elbow ligament replacement procedure every year, and its success rate (80% to 90%) so high that it almost seems routine.
It is anything but, the grueling 16-month rehabilitation process, with its endless hours of strength and range-of-motion exercises, the painful breaking up of scar tissue and the months-long throwing progression accompanied by an equally challenging mental component.
“The doctors have done a great job with the surgery, and guys are coming back and performing, but as a player, you feel isolated and ostracized, like you’re not a part of the team,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.
“I think we do as good a job as anybody trying to keep guys feeling valued and relevant, getting them in town with us when we can, but it’s a tough road mentally.”
How to watch and stream the Dodgers this season
Here’s a look at the Dodgers broadcast and streaming schedule for the remainder of the 2022 regular season: