The Los Angeles Dodgers avoided a three-game sweep at the hands of the New York Mets on Sunday, grabbing a statement 10-0 victory over their National League rivals. There have been some ups and downs in the team's 13-11 start and manager Dave Roberts made that crystal clear after the series finale, saying it was the first “complete” game for his squad in 2024.

Via ESPN:

“It's the first complete baseball game I can recall (by the Dodgers this season),” Roberts said. “We were clean defensively. I thought the at-bats were really good, especially the guys at the bottom of the order. … And then obviously what Tyler did. Just overall, it was fun to just watch a clean baseball game.”

The Dodgers had just nine hits but they were scattered throughout the lineup, with both Andy Pages and Gavin Lux going 2 for 4. On the hill, Tyler Glasnow tossed a gem, going eight scoreless innings while striking out 10 hitters.

Historic night for Shohei Ohtani

It was an evening to remember for superstar Shohei Ohtani, who passed Hideki Matsui for the most home runs by a Japanese-born player with 176. He took Adrian Houser 423 feet to right field for his fifth bomb of the year, making history in the process. Ohtani's reaction to the feat? Priceless:

“Honestly, I was just relieved I was able to get it over with,” Ohtani said through his interpreter.

Roberts meanwhile was extremely impressed:

“Hideki Matsui was a great ballplayer, a great home run hitter, a world champion,” Roberts said. “I know that Shohei admired him, so for him to eclipse that mark, it's a big deal. I know whatever kind of mark is ahead of Shohei, he's trying to take them all down.”

Dodgers looking to get back on track

Los Angeles is just 3-7 in their last 10 contests. They've been swinging in relatively well, ranking top-10 in the big leagues in several major offensive categories. On the mound however, there's been inconsistency with a combined ERA of 4.12. Surprisingly, Canadian James Paxton is their best starter so far, producing a 2.81 ERA in three appearances. Glasnow also lowered his ERA to 2.92 over the weekend.

Roberts' message to the team following Saturday's loss to the Mets clearly paid off:

“The message is just keep playing,” Roberts said. “Keep preparing, keep competing and expect things to turn. Today was a little bit of what we’ve seen in the sense of the pitching, you allow nine free bases by way of walk or hit batsman.

“We did a good job conversely of getting guys on base by way of the walk and hit batsman. We just didn’t get the hits we needed to put up some crooked numbers. And then when we do make a bad pitch, it seems to go out of the ballpark. That’s just what happens when things aren’t going well.

“My point is you’ve just got to keep going. We’re in it, and you’ve just got to keep going. No one is going to feel sorry for you. You’ve got to play the game the right way and expect things to turn.”

Needless to say, they kept going and it resulted in a lopsided win. Hopefully, it's the start of the Dodgers turning things around and getting hot. LA hits the road to visit the Washington Nationals on Tuesday before heading north of the border for a weekend series with the Toronto Blue Jays.