The Los Angeles Dodgers would enjoy an 18-2 win over the New York Yankees, which not only could come as a statement game between the top two teams in the majors, but it was also a special day for manager Dave Roberts. With the Dodgers capitalizing on a brutal Yankees performance, it was also Roberts' 53rd birthday, which was no doubt sweeter with the outing.

With Los Angeles reinforcing their World Series aspirations with the dominant win over New York, it would also come on his birthday, as said before. However, any win against the Yankees is one where it “always feels good,” according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

“It’s certainly sweet to win any game,’’ Roberts said, “but to beat those guys is always good. It always feels good to beat the Yankees. You know, they’re the class of the American League right now, and anytime you can beat those guys, you feel good.’’

It should feel good for Los Angeles, especially since entering the series against New York, they had lost seven of their last 12 games, but now have back-to-back wins over the Yankees.

“You know the last couple of weeks has certainly been a grind with all of the stuff we’ve been going through,’’ Roberts said. “But obviously when you get the Yankees and fans get into it, it just kind of infuses some excitement into the clubhouse and guys showed up and given what these fans want. It’s been a fun series for us. … It’s kind of like that playoff environment.’’

Dave Roberts on if the Dodgers domination over Yankees was a statement 

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With an offensive showcase filled with home runs for the Dodgers against the Yankees, one could call the victory on Saturday a statement win since it recalled their World Series matchup. However, Roberts does not see it in the same light, saying he is just “happy with the process” that the team is going through.

“No, I wouldn’t say statement, that’s a good club over there,’’ Roberts said. “I’m just happy with the process and how we’re taking the field and going about playing baseball. We’ve sort of been playing middling baseball for a while now, so maybe it took a club like the Yankees to get us reset and step our game up.’’

At any rate, Los Angeles is 36-22, which puts them first in the NL West as there is one more game against the Yankees in the series before they start a four-game slate against the New York Mets.