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From Jack Harris: The Dodgers thought they had found a spark during their series win over the New York Yankees last weekend.
Turns out, after a month of mostly middling play from the first-place ball club, they might have actually lit a raging, relentless summertime fire.
In their encore to a successful showdown in the Bronx, the Dodgers returned home to dismantle the defending World Series champions Tuesday night, cruising to a 15-2 rout of the Texas Rangers — their most lopsided win all season.
A week ago, the Dodgers were somewhat scuffling through the middle portion of their season. They went 12-12 from May 10 to June 5. They battled inconsistencies from the lineup and pitching staff for much of that stretch. And entering their showdown with the Yankees last weekend, they were looking for a “shot in the arm,” as manager Dave Roberts called it.
Five games later, that jolt has been received.
The team’s star-studded lineup has surged back to life, punctuating Tuesday’s season-high scoring output with four home runs in a seven-run sixth inning — the club’s first four-home run inning since September 2021.
A banged-up pitching staff has maintained solid production, getting a strong six-inning, one-run start Tuesday from previously struggling left-hander James Paxton.
‘Uncharted territory’: Is Mookie Betts at shortstop a sustainable solution for the Dodgers?
Dodgers’ Pride Night is back. Will there be protests after 2023 event honored drag nuns?
Dodgers Dugout: Things we miss about Dodger Stadium
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ANGELS
Randal Grichuk had a two-run homer as part of a three-hit night, Corbin Carroll, Gabriel Moreno and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. all added three more hits and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Angels 9-4 on Tuesday.
Grichuk finished a single short of the cycle, and Carroll was a homer shy of the feat. Moreno hit two doubles and had two RBIs. No Diamondbacks player has hit for the cycle since Aaron Hill on June 29, 2012.
Carroll got the scoring started in the second inning with an RBI triple into the right-center gap that brought home Grichuk. Two batters later, Geraldo Perdomo added an RBI single to make it 2-0.
NBA FINALS
Schedule and results
All times Pacific
Boston Celtics vs. Dallas Mavericks
at Boston 107, Dallas 89 (box score)
at Boston 105, Dallas 98 (box score)
Wednesday at Dallas, 5:30 p.m., ABC
Friday at Dallas, 5:30 p.m., ABC
*Monday at Boston, 5:30 p.m., ABC
*Thursday, June 20 at Dallas, 5:30 p.m., ABC
*Sunday, June 23, at Boston, 5 p.m., ABC
*-if necessary
SPARKS
Nneka Ogwumike scored a season-high 26 points against her former team, Jewell Loyd added 21 points and the Seattle Storm beat the Sparks 95-79 on Tuesday night.
Seattle has won seven of its last eight games, with the lone loss coming against Minnesota on Sunday.
Seattle scored on four straight possessions down the stretch to seal it. Skylar Diggins-Smith drove into the lane and passed it out to Ogwumike for a corner three-pointer to make it 79-70. Diggins-Smith added a three-pointer on Seattle’s next possession for a 12-point lead. Ogwumike capped the 8-0 run.
RAMS
From Gary Klein: The Rams were all smiles Tuesday as they completed offseason workouts on a beautiful final afternoon in Thousand Oaks.
Everyone connected with the organization appeared upbeat.
But make no mistake: A pall hangs over the Rams and their sunny disposition as they enter a break before reporting to training camp at Loyola Marymount on July 23.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford went through the voluntary offseason workout program at odds with the Rams over his contract. Coach Sean McVay gave no indication Tuesday that the team and the 16th-year pro are close to finding common ground.
Asked after the workout if there was progress with the Stafford situation, McVay demurred.
Rams wave goodbye to their Cal Lutheran era, say hello to camp at LMU
CHARGERS
From Jeff Miller: Despite everything he did at Oregon, despite 17,000 NFL passing yards and 114 touchdown tosses and all the records already set as a Charger, Justin Herbert has never stood out quite like this on a football field.
Wrapped in a golden jersey while everyone else is dressed in blue or white, Herbert literally has resembled a one-man team at times during the Chargers’ offseason program.
“He did not want that,” coach Jim Harbaugh said Tuesday. “He didn’t. And I get that. I understand that. As a quarterback, I didn’t like wearing a different color jersey than anybody else on the team.”
But Harbaugh has insisted that Herbert go gold as a reminder to others to give him his space — Harbaugh called it “a halo” — as a means to protect the franchise’s most significant asset.
“[It’s] two yards for the all quarterbacks,” Harbaugh said, using his hands to illustrate a barrier surrounding the player. “But the guy wearing the gold jersey, let’s make that 2½ or three.”
SOCCER
From Kevin Baxter: The global refugee population topped 16.1 million in 2015, the highest number in more than two decades and larger than the populations of 120 countries, according to the United Nations.
One of those refugees was a skinny boy named Bernard Kamungo, who, for the first 14 years of his life, knew of nothing outside the teeming camp in western Tanzania where he was born to displaced Congolese parents fleeing decades of war in their homeland.
Then a lifeline appeared. His family was approved for resettlement in the U.S. and less than a decade after escaping the camp for a home in Abilene, Texas, Kamungo hasn’t just grown into a man, he has become one of the best soccer players in his adopted country. Not only has the FC Dallas midfielder played for the U.S. national team, but he has hopes of suiting up in the Olympic Games this summer.
STANLEY CUP FINAL
Schedule and results
All times Pacific
Florida Panthers vs. Edmonton Oilers
at Florida 3, Edmonton 0 (box score)
at Florida 4, Edmonton 1 (box score)
Thursday at Edmonton, 5 p.m., ESPN,
Saturday at Edmonton, 5 p.m., ESPN
*Tuesday at Florida, 5 p.m., ESPN
*Friday, June 21 at Edmonton, 5 p.m., ESPN
*Monday, June 24 at Florida, TB5 p.m.D, ESPN
*-if necessary
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1930 — Max Schmeling beats Jack Sharkey on a fourth-round foul for the vacant heavyweight title in New York. Schmeling becomes the first German — and European — heavyweight world champion.
1939 — Byron Nelson wins the U.S. Open in a three-way playoff with Craig Wood and Denny Shute.
1948 — Citation, ridden by Eddie Arcaro, wins the Belmont Stakes and the Triple Crown with an eight-length victory over Better Self. It’s Arcaro’s second Triple Crown. He rode Whirlaway in 1941.
1948 — Ben Hogan wins the U.S. Open with a record 276, five fewer than Ralph Guldahl’s 1937 record.
1954 — Milwaukee Braves spot starting pitcher Jim Wilson throws first no-hitter in history of County Stadium when he blanks Philadelphia Phillies, 2-0.
1979 — Bobby Orr becomes the youngest player in NHL history to be selected for the Hockey Hall of Fame. The 31-year-old is inducted months after officially ending his NHL career as the Hall waives its usual three-year waiting period.
1981 — Larry Holmes stops Leon Spinks in the third round for the WBC heavyweight title in Detroit.
1983 — Patty Sheehan wins the LPGA championship by two strokes over Sandra Haynie.
1991 — The Chicago Bulls win the first NBA championship in the team’s 25-year history with a 108-101 victory in Game 5 over the Lakers. MVP Michael Jordan scores 30 points, Scottie Pippen has 32 and John Paxson 20.
2002 — NBA Finals: Lakers beat New Jersey Nets, 113-107 for a 4-0 sweep and 3rd straight title; MVP: Shaquille O’Neal for 3rd consecutive Finals series.
2005 — Annika Sorenstam closes with a 1-over 73 for a three-shot victory over Michelle Wie in the LPGA Championship. The 15-year-old Wie shoots a 69 to finish second. It’s the highest finish by an amateur in a major since 20-year-old Jenny Chuasiriporn lost a playoff to Se Ri Pak in the 1998 U.S. Women’s Open.
2009 — Pittsburgh’s Max Talbot scores two second-period goals as the Penguins beat the defending champion Detroit Red Wings 2-1 in Game 7 and win the Stanley Cup at Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena.
2011 — The Dallas Mavericks win their first NBA title by winning Game 6 of the finals in Miami, 105-95. Jason Terry scores 27 points and Dirk Nowitzki adds 21.
2016 — Sidney Crosby sets up Kris Letang’s go-ahead goal midway through the second period and the Pittsburgh Penguins win the fourth Stanley Cup in franchise history by beating the San Jose Sharks 3-1 in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup final.
2017 — Kevin Durant caps his spectacular first season with the Warriors by bringing home an NBA championship. Durant, who joined Golden State last July, scores 39 points in a finals-clinching 129-120 victory over LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
2019 — Stanley Cup Final, TD Garden, Boston, MA: St. Louis Blues beat Boston Bruins, 4-1 for a 4-3 series victory; first title in franchise history.
2023 — NBA Finals: Denver Nuggets beat Miami Heat 94-89 to win the franchise’s first Championship; clinch series 4-1; MVP: Denver C Nikola Jokić.
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, and follow me on Twitter at @latimeshouston. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.