Dodgers defeat the Rays
From Liana Handler: Miguel Rojas had practiced his dance moves in the Dodgers dugout Monday, long before he hit the go-ahead home run. Before the game, he strutted around, at one point even grabbing Dalton Rushing, decked in full catcher’s gear, to get hyped.
Rojas, who pinch-hit for Alex Freeland in the bottom of the seventh and homered to center, was more measured as he crossed the plate without any antics. His veteran steadiness never indicated that he‘d hit a pinch-hit home run only one other time in his career.
“It feels pretty good,” Rojas said. “It’s always a new day, a new opportunity that you contribute to win a baseball game. It’s pretty special, especially with this group that we have right here and the kind of season that we’re having.”
The Dodgers’ 4-3 win over Tampa Bay rid them of their middling road performance. The team split a six-game trip, capped by a Sunday loss to the Chicago White Sox, before returning home.
No one found more immediate success than Kyle Tucker, who temporarily put his .227 batting average on the trip in the rearview mirror. For how long remains a question. Tucker’s season so far has looked more like a teenager testing out their driver’s license: stopping and starting and stopping again. Yet everything seemed to be working when the Dodgers (46-27) beat the Rays (41-28).
“I would love to come back and do it again and make it consistent every single day,” Tucker said. “I guess, if it works out for one at-bat, it’s not like I immediately figured it out and everything is fine now. The important thing is, just try to do it every single at-bat. And, over the course of time — It felt good and everything. I’ve just got to try to do it again tomorrow.”
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Dodgers box score
MLB standings
Angels lose to the Diamondbacks
Pavin Smith hit a tiebreaking, solo homer off the right-field foul pole, Ryne Nelson threw seven quality innings, and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Angels 4-3 on Monday night.
Smith broke a 2-2 tie in the seventh when he launched his first homer in nearly a calendar year. The veteran first baseman — who came into the game with a .103 batting average — has spent most of this season on the injured list after surgery to remove bone chips in his left elbow.
Geraldo Perdomo added an RBI double later in the seventh that made it 4-2. Paul Sewald gave up a solo homer to Donovan Walton with two outs in the ninth but struck out Oswald Peraza to earn his 18th save in 19 chances.
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Angels box score
MLB standings
Iran ties New Zealand in emotional first game
From Iliana Limón Romero: The Iranian national team finally got to just play soccer.
Their journey to the World Cup has been uniquely fraught, with a war erupting between the host of their matches and their home country.
They had to relocate their base camp from Arizona to Tijuana, struggled to get all of their traveling party into the United States amid visa scrutiny and absorbed President Trump’s suggestion they may not be safe if they chose to play in the World Cup.
With the focus shifted solely to soccer, Iran rallied for a 2-2 draw with New Zealand in front of an announced crowd of 70,108 Monday night at SoFi Stadium. While overcoming so many obstacles could have felt like a win to Team Melli, they left frustrated by their fate on and off the field.
After Belgium and Egypt tied 1-1 earlier Monday, all the teams in Group G are tied at one point apiece. The scores made falling short of a win that much more painful.
“At the end, you’re not happy today because I think you deserve to win the game, but what actually is football sometimes? You cannot reach what you want,” Iran’s Ramin Rezaeian said. “But again, I have to thank my teammates, my friends, my people in Iran. They deserve more. I think we deserve more actually, so you have to see forward and to think about our next game.”
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Born in Brooklyn, raised in London, Folarin Balogun lights up the World Cup for the U.S.
Click here for complete TV schedule, groups and players to watch
Monday’s World Cup results
Group G
Belgium 1, Egypt 1
Iran 2, New Zealand 2
Group H
Spain 0, Cape Verde 0
Saudi Arabia 1, Uruguay 1
Today’s World Cup TV schedule
All times Pacific
Noon, France vs. Senegal, Fox, Telemundo
3 p.m., Iraq vs. Norway, Fox, Telemundo
6 p.m., Argentina vs. Algeria, Fox, Telemundo
9 p.m., Austria vs. Jordan, FS1, Telemundo
World Cup Group standings
Group A
Country, W-D-L, Goal Differential, Points
Mexico, 1-0-0, +2, 3
South Korea, 1-0-0, +1, 3
Czechia, 0-0-1, -1, 0
South Africa, 0-0-1, -2, 0
Group B
Switzerland, 0-1-0, 0, 1
Canada, 0-1-0, 0, 1
Qatar, 0-1-0, 0, 1
Bosnia-Herzegovina, 0-1-0, 0, 1
Group C
Scotland, 1-0-0, +1, 3
Morocco, 0-1-0, 0, 1
Brazil, 0-1-0, 0, 1
Haiti, 0-0-1, -1, 0
Group D
United States, 1-0-0, +3, 3
Australia, 1-0-0, +2, 3
Turkiye, 0-0-1, -2, 0
Paraguay, 0-0-1, -3, 0
Group E
Germany, 1-0-0, +6, 3
Ivory Coast, 1-0-0, +1, 3
Ecuador, 0-0-1, -1, 0
Curacao, 0-0-1, -6, 0
Group F
Sweden, 1-0-0. +4, 3
Japan, 0-1-0, 0, 1
Netherlands, 0-1-0, 0, 1
Tunisia, 0-0-1, -4, 0
Group G
Belgium, 0-1-0, 0, 1
Egypt, 0-1-0, 0, 1
Iran, 0-1-0, 0, 1
New Zealand, 0-1-0, 0, 1
Group H
Spain, 0-1-0, 0, 1
Cape Verde, 0-1-0, 0, 1
Saudi Arabia, 0-1-0, 0, 1
Uruguay, 0-1-0, 0, 1
No games played yet for the remaining groups
Group I
France
Senegal
Iraq
Norway
Group J
Argentina
Algeria
Austria
Jordan
Group K
Portugal
Congo DR
Uzbekistan
Colombia
Group L
England
Croatia
Ghana
Panama
Volunteer to work at the 2028 Olympics
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: With the largest Olympic and Paralympic Games in history approaching, LA28 announced Monday it will open volunteer applications on July 14, the two-year mark before the Olympics officially begin.
LA28 is searching for 60,000 volunteers to work during an Olympics that will feature more than 11,000 athletes across 15 days of competition. Volunteer responsibilities range from welcoming and guiding spectators and athletes, to specialized roles, including medical care and language translation. While the majority of Games-time volunteer opportunities are in the L.A. area, volunteers are needed for every Olympic venue city: Oklahoma City will host softball and canoe slalom events, and soccer preliminaries will be held in New York, Columbus, Ohio; Nashville; St. Louis; San José and San Diego.
Applicants can specify their preferred location, their special skills and whether they would like to volunteer for the Olympics or Paralympics.
Updates about the LA28 volunteer program are available at la28.org/volunteer, where potential volunteers can register their interest to automatically receive more information about the Games-time application process when it opens.
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Sparks offense disappears in loss
From Marisa Ingemi: Any of the good vibes the Sparks generated from their three-game win streak were dissipated Monday.
In their 78-58 defeat, the Sparks’ worst weaknesses were exposed: continued struggles on defense and a punchless offensive scheme with Kelsey Plum struggling to score. Their 58 points were the fewest they have scored all season and they shot a second-worst 33.3% from the floor.
It was the fewest points scored by the Sparks since they were held to 57 by the Connecticut Sun on Sept. 9, 2021.
“We weren’t very good,” Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said.
Golden State’s Kaila Charles and Gabby Williams kept Plum mostly in check, holding her to a season-low nine points after her career-high 43-point game in Phoenix on Saturday. Plum fouled out midway through the fourth quarter after being held to four points in the third quarter.
To make matters worse, Cameron Brink, who led the Sparks with 10 points, appeared to roll her left ankle in the waning minutes of the game and needed to be helped to the bench and then the locker room. Roberts said Brink’s injury was still being evaluated.
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Sparks box score
WNBA standings
This day in sports history
1927 — Tommy Armour wins the U.S. Open with a three-stroke victory over Harry Cooper in a playoff.
1946 — Lloyd Mangrum edges Byron Nelson and Vic Ghezzi to win the U.S. Open by one stroke in a 36-hole playoff.
1951 — Ben Hogan captures the U.S. Open for the second straight year with a two-stroke comeback victory over Clayton Heafner.
1956 — Cary Middlecoff wins the U.S. Open by one stroke over Ben Hogan and Julius Boros.
1968 — Lee Trevino becomes the first golfer to play all four rounds of the U.S. Open under par as he beats Jack Nicklaus by four strokes.
1974 — Hale Irwin beats Forrest Fezler by two strokes to win the U.S. Open. In what becomes known as the “Massacre at Winged Foot,” not a single player breaks par in the first round. Irwin’s 7-over 278 is the second-highest winning score since World War II — Julius Boros was 9-over in 1963.
1975 — NBA Milwaukee Bucks trade Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Walt Wesley to the Lakers for Elmore Smith, Brian Winters, Junior Bridgeman and Dave Meyers.
1985 — Andy North wins the U.S. Open by one stroke over Taiwan’s Tze-chung Chen, Canada’s Dave Barr and Zimbabwe’s Denis Watson.
1985 — Willie Banks of USA sets triple jump record (58 feet 11 inches) in Indianapolis.
1993 — Michael Jordan scores 55 points to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 111-105 victory and a 3-1 lead over the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Finals.
1996 — 50th NBA Championship: Chicago Bulls beat Seattle Supersonics, 4 games to 2; the Bulls’ 4th title in 6 years.
1998 — The Detroit Red Wings become the first team to win consecutive Stanley Cups since Pittsburgh in 1992, completing a sweep of Washington with a 4-1 win behind two goals by Doug Brown. It’s the fourth straight NHL finals sweep, a first in major pro sports history.
1999 — Maurice Greene smashes the 100-meter world record at 9.79 seconds, breaking the previous mark of 9.84 set by Donovan Bailey at the 1996 Olympics.
2002 — A runaway winner again in the U.S. Open, Tiger Woods becomes the first player since Jack Nicklaus in 1972 to capture the first two major championships of the year with a three-stroke victory at Bethpage (N.Y.) Black.
2006 — Tiger Woods returns from his longest layoff by making his earliest departure at a major, missing the cut in a Grand Slam tournament for the first time as a pro. Woods, with rounds of 76-76, misses the cut at the U.S. Open by three strokes.
2008 — Tiger Woods wins the U.S. Open in a 19-hole playoff over Rocco Mediate, his 14th career major.
2013 — Justin Rose captures his first major championship and becomes the first Englishman in 43 years to win the U.S. Open. Rose shoots a closing 70 at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa. for a 1-over 281 total and two-shot victory over Phil Mickelson and Jason Day.
2013 — Greg Biffle gives Ford a milestone victory with his second straight Sprint Cup win at Michigan International Speedway. It’s the 1,000th victory for Ford Motor Company across NASCAR’s three national series — Cup, Nationwide and Truck.
2015 — The Golden State Warriors win their first NBA championship since 1975, beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 105-97 in Game 6. Stephen Curry and Finals MVP Andre Iguodala each score 25 points for the Warriors, who won the final three games after Cleveland had taken a 2-1 lead.
2016 — LeBron James scores 41 points, Kyrie Irving adds 23 and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Golden State Warriors 115-101 to even an unpredictable series and force a decisive Game 7.
2018 — Video Assist Referee (VAR) technology used for the first time in a World Cup soccer match.
2022 — NBA Finals: Golden State Warriors beat Boston Celtics, 103-90 for a 4-2 series win; Warriors’ 4th title in 8 years; MVP: Stephen Curry.
Compiled by the Associated Press
This day in baseball history
1916 — Tom Hughes of the Boston Braves pitched a no-hitter in a 2-0 win over Pittsburgh Pirates.
1938 — Jimmie Foxx didn’t get a chance to hit as the St. Louis Browns walked him six straight times. The Boston Red Sox won anyway, 12-8.
1953 — The St. Louis Browns beat New York 3-1 to break the Yankees’ 18-game winning streak and end their 14-game losing streak.
1957 — Relief pitcher Dixie Howell hit two home runs in the 3 2-3 innings he pitched to lead the Chicago White Sox to an 8-6 victory in the second game of a doubleheader against the Washington Senators.
1971 — The Oakland Athletics hit five solo home runs in a 5-1 win over the Washington Senators. Mike Epstein and Joe Rudi had a pair homers and Dave Duncan one. Epstein’s home runs came in his first two at-bats to give him homers in four straight at-bats over two games.
1978 — After three ninth-inning near misses, Tom Seaver threw the first no-hitter of his 12-year career as the Cincinnati Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-0.
1991 — Otis Nixon of Atlanta stole six bases against Montreal to set a modern National League record and tie the major league record set by Eddie Collins of the Philadelphia A’s in 1912. Montreal won the game 7-6.
1992 — Boston’s Mark Reardon became baseball’s all-time save leader when he closed out a 1-0 win over the New York Yankees. Reardon logged his 342nd save to pass Rollie Fingers.
1993 — Ken Griffey Jr. of the Seattle Mariners hits his 100th home run in Seattle’s 6-1 victory over Kansas City to become the fourth-youngest to hit the century mark. Only Mel Ott, Eddie Mathews and Tony Conigliaro did it faster than the 23-year-old Griffey.
2001 — John Olerud went 4-for-5 and hit for the cycle as Seattle beat the San Diego Padres 9-2. He hit a homer in the ninth to complete the cycle.
2009 — The San Diego Padres set a major league record with their 12th straight loss in interleague play when they fell 5-0 to Seattle.
2014 — Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn, winner of eight National League batting titles, passes away from cancer of the salivary gland at 54.
2015 — Brock Holt became the first Boston player to hit for the cycle since 1996 and the Red Sox slugged their way out to a 9-4 victory over Atlanta.
2015 — Manny Machado and Chris Parmelee each hit two of an Orioles-record eight home runs, and Baltimore pounded woeful Philadelphia 19-3. The eight home runs were the most by the Orioles since their move from St. Louis in 1954.
2019 — An authentic Babe Ruth New York Yankees jersey from 1928-30 sets a record for a piece of baseball memorabilia as it sells for $5.64 million at auction.
2019 — The Padres and Rockies set a record for most combined runs in a four-game series with a total of 92, breaking the previous record of 88 set in 1929 between the Brooklyn Robins and Phillies.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.