Gallo shines at plate, in field as LA sweeps

LOS ANGELES -- When the Dodgers acquired Joey Gallo from the Yankees at the Trade Deadline, they were hopeful they could bolster their bench by helping the struggling outfielder rework his offensive approach.

With his effort in the Dodgers’ 10-3 win in the series finale against the Marlins on Sunday at Dodger Stadium, Gallo showed that he’s very much capable of being an impact player on both sides of the ball. The left fielder went 2-for-3 with a triple, a walk and two runs scored, as well as a pair of outstanding defensive plays.

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“I've been feeling pretty good,” Gallo told SportsNet L.A. “We have a great team. It's easy to come in here and take at-bats and just try to be a team guy. Things went my way today and it went our way this whole series. It's exciting.”

Gallo’s two hits came off of Marlins right-hander Sandy Alcantara who, to this point, has been the leading National League Cy Young Award candidate.

The Dodgers handed Alcantara season highs in earned runs (six) and hits (10) in what was his shortest start of the year (3 2/3 innings), raising his ERA from 1.92 to 2.19.

The first of Gallo’s hits was a second-inning triple, which got cashed in on Cody Bellinger’s two-run home run. Gallo’s fly ball came pretty close to clearing the wall itself (and would have been out in three MLB ballparks, including his old stomping grounds, Yankee Stadium). Instead, it hit near the base of the right-center-field wall, eluding the glove of Marlins right fielder Brian Anderson. It was Gallo’s second triple of 2022, and just the ninth of his eight-year MLB career.

Gallo also hit a leadoff single in the bottom of the fourth, took second on a Bellinger groundout and turned the burners on to score on a Mookie Betts base hit to left field.

It was Gallo’s first multi-hit game with the Dodgers.

It’s still early in Gallo’s Dodgers tenure -- and he’s almost exclusively faced right-handed pitching -- but so far his offensive results have taken a step forward. In 82 games with New York this year, Gallo slashed .159/.282/.339. In 12 games (eight starts) with the Dodgers, he’s slashed .267/.371/.667 in 35 plate appearances.

“[Gallo] and the hitting coaches, they've been relentless in trying to do this in real time during the season and tighten up the swing mechanics,” said manager Dave Roberts. “And he's bought in, and every day it seems like he's getting more and more consistent. He's taking better at-bats, he's taking better swings. I certainly believe that it just kind of validates and gives him more confidence. Just to get him down there and feeling good, it just makes us more dangerous.”

If the offensive contributions weren’t enough, Gallo provided some stellar glovework, starting with a perfect throw home to nab Joey Wendle to help starter Ryan Pepiot escape the top of the first inning unscathed.

“That was awesome,” said catcher Will Smith, who was on the receiving end of the throw. “Great throw, caught it, put the tag on him and kept it at zero.”

Gallo got to Wendle again in the third, tracking down a fly ball near the left-field line and diving to make the grab. The ball had an expected batting average of .420, according to Statcast.

Gallo’s preferred position is right field, where he’s won two Gold Glove Awards. However, he’s been relegated to left field more in recent seasons. His minus-5 outs above average in left this year indicate there’s room for improvement -- though you wouldn’t know it to watch him out there on Sunday.

“For me, I really want to work for the pitchers,” said Gallo. “They're always working their butts off. I think the least we can do is give 100 percent out there. I was happy I was able to help the team in that aspect and help Ryan get out of a couple innings.”

Of course, don’t discount the impact of the Dodgers shaking things up with their walk-up music on Sunday. Everyone came in to songs performed by female artists in recognition of Women’s Day at Dodger Stadium; they were selected by the players’ significant others -- except in the case of Gallo and Hanser Alberto, who chose each other’s songs. For Gallo, it was "I'm Real (Remix)" by J.Lo and Ja Rule.

“I may have to keep it because I got a couple hits,” said Gallo. “I was like, ‘Dang it. I may have to keep it for a couple games now.’”