The Sports Report: Dodgers’ winning streak comes to an end

Howdy, I’m your host, Houston Mitchell. Let’s get right to the news.

From Steve Henson: The Dodgers finally encountered something as hot as they’ve been — Kauffman Stadium in the afternoon August sun.

At 90 degrees with oppressive humidity, the air was as thick and sticky as any signature tomato-based barbecue sauce in this beef and pork-centric Midwestern city.

The Dodgers’ 12-game winning streak — one short of their longest since moving to Los Angeles in 1958 — died on the vine, the Royals salvaging the finale of the three-game series, 4-0, Sunday in front of 18,481 fans, most of whom scurried to seats in the shade.

The hot hand was provided by Brady Singer, a third-year Royals right-hander who gave up only a single by Chris Taylor in six scoreless innings. Singer’s ERA over his last six starts fell to 1.64, and he received a standing ovation after striking out Max Muncy to end the sixth on his 102nd pitch.

No wonder. Singer (6-4) silenced Dodgers bats that scored 21 runs in lopsided wins Friday and Saturday and had outscored opponents 91-31 during the winning streak.

“He’s really good with that two-seamer inside to a lefty, he makes you cognizant of that and it opens up his sliders away,” Freddie Freeman said.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts called off pregame batting practice for a second day in a row to keep his players out of the heat as long as possible. They hit in an indoor cage instead.

LAKERS-CLIPPERS

From Andrew Greif: The Clippers and Lakers will not need to wait long until the arena co-tenants meet for the first time in the upcoming NBA season.

With the featured duos of LeBron James and Anthony Davis, and Kawhi Leonard and Paul George all potentially healthy, the teams will face off Oct. 20 at Crypto.com Arena in what will be a designated Lakers home game, according to people with knowledge of the NBA’s schedule, which is expected to be released in full in the coming days.

The game will be the Clippers’ season opener, while the Lakers will open two days earlier, on Oct. 18, at defending champion Golden State.

RAMS

From Gary Klein: The Rams called first, so Lance McCutcheon did not wait for another opportunity as an undrafted free agent.

The former Montana State receiver joined a defending Super Bowl champion team that included star receiver Cooper Kupp, new addition Allen Robinson and third-year pro Van Jefferson among others. He knew making the roster would be a challenge.

“Coming from Montana State, an undrafted free-agent guy, just come out here and work in silence,” McCutcheon said of his approach. “Just come out here, working, take advantage when I’m given the opportunity and just keep going.

“Keep building up those opportunities and take advantage on game days.”

McCutcheon capitalized during Saturday night’s 29-22 preseason victory over the Chargers. He scored on pass plays of 60 and 11 yards and a two-point conversion pass.

CHARGERS

From Jeff Miller: Like all NFL teams, the Chargers are facing a Tuesday deadline for cutting their roster from 90 players to 85.

The next trim — from 85 to 80 — is due Aug. 23. A week after that, teams must reach the 53-man limit.

Now, slightly less than one month from the Chargers’ opening against Las Vegas on Sept. 11, let’s project where the 53-man roster could end up, keeping in mind that NFL rosters are fluid and will change throughout the season.

UCLA FOOTBALL

From Ben Bolch: The public putdown spread thanks to an unlikely source.

Its target.

Earlier this summer, Dorian Thompson-Robinson retweeted a criticism of his play to nearly 17,000 followers. He wasn’t trying to prove anyone wrong or motivate himself or send any sort of message.

The UCLA quarterback shared the words of sports gambling analyst Brandon Walker because they rung true.

“At some point this season,” Walker wrote in June, “you will bet on UCLA because you’ve convinced yourself Dorian Thompson-Robinson is a good QB and you will be sad. Every single year.”

As much as it might have stung, Thompson-Robinson agreed that the critique accurately depicted the unfulfilled promise of his first four years as a Bruin.

“Y’all watch, y’all know football, I’m not going to sit here and act like y’all don’t know anything about the game,” Thompson-Robinson said of the media, “so yeah, there’s always some truth out there; he wouldn’t be saying it if wasn’t true.”

To be fair, many of UCLA’s recent failures haven’t been the fault of its quarterback. The Bruins couldn’t supply a defensive stop to beat Fresno State, or a touchdown to upset Oregon after Thompson-Robinson departed with an injury, or a decent kickoff to prevent USC from an improbable rally in the final minute.

The details didn’t matter. The bottom line, in Thompson-Robinson’s mind, was that he was the leader of a team that didn’t get it done.

ANGEL CITY

Savannah McCaskill scored the lone goal for Angel City in a 1-0 win over the Chicago Red Stars at Banc of California Stadium.

“I think with some of the results this weekend, the other teams are making that push to the playoffs, and that’s where we want to be,” Angel City coach Freya Coombe said. “It was essential for us to keep up. It was vital for us to get three points, especially at home with our busy travel schedule coming up.”

SPARKS

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: Nneka Ogwumike’s teammates have already left for greener pastures. She watched her former point guard Chelsea Gray lead the Las Vegas Aces to the best record in the WNBA this season. Candace Parker, whom Ogwumike viewed almost as an older sister on the Sparks, won a championship with the Chicago Sky immediately after leaving the struggling franchise that drafted her.

Yet with the Sparks heading into their second consecutive early offseason after Sunday’s dismal 116-88 finale against the Dallas Wings, Ogwumike didn’t hesitate when asked whether she wanted to return to L.A. next year.

“I would love to be back,” she said cheerfully.

After rolling her ankle midway through the fourth quarter of Thursday’s blowout loss to Connecticut that sealed the Sparks’ playoff-less fate, Ogwumike missed Sunday’s season finale. The Sparks (13-23) now limp into the offseason with nine losses in their last 10 games and six important unrestricted free-agent decisions.

ANGELS

From Sarah Valenzuela: Tucker Davidson’s home debut as an Angel was completely different from his first game in the uniform.

On Sunday, under an unforgivable sun on a 91-degree afternoon, Davidson pitched six innings of two-run baseball, scattering four hits, walking one batter and striking out three.

“Today was fun,” Davidson said. “I think my slider was really good today. ... I felt like I had better direction today in my mechanics.”

The performance earned him his first win with his new team, a 4-2 Angels victory over the Minnesota Twins to take the series.

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1948 — Babe Didrikson Zaharias wins the U.S. Women’s Open golf title over Betty Hicks.

1950 — Ezzard Charles knocks out Freddie Beshore in the 14th round to retain his world heavyweight title.

1965 — Dave Marr edges Jack Nicklaus and Billy Casper to take the PGA Championship.

1966 — Jose Torres retains his world light-heavyweight title with a unanimous decision over Eddie Cotton in Las Vegas.

1993 — Greg Norman lips his putt on the PGA Championship’s second playoff hole, giving Paul Azinger the title and leaving Norman with an unprecedented career of Grand Slam playoff losses. Norman, despite winning his second British Open title a month earlier, has lost playoffs in three other majors — 1984 U.S. Open, 1987 Masters, 1989 British Open.

1993 — Damon Hill, son of the late Graham Hill, becomes the first father-son Formula One winners when he takes the Hungarian Grand Prix.

1995 — Monica Seles returns to the WTA Tour after a 28-month absence after her 1993 stabbing with a 6-0, 6-3 win over Kimberly Po at the Canadian Open.

1999 — Tiger Woods makes a par save on the 17th hole and holds on to win the PGA Championship by one stroke over 19-year-old Sergio Garcia. Woods, 23, becomes the youngest player to win two majors since Seve Ballesteros in 1980.

2004 — In Athens, Greece, the U.S. men’s basketball team loses 92-73 to Puerto Rico, the third Olympic defeat for the Americans and first since adding pros. American teams had been 24-0 since the pro Olympic era began with the 1992 Dream Team. The U.S Olympic team’s record was 109-2, entering the game.

2005 — Phil Mickelson delivers another dramatic finish in a major, flopping a chip out of deep rough to 2 feet for a birdie on the final hole and a one-shot victory in the PGA Championship.

2007 — Former NBA referee Tim Donaghy pleads guilty to felony charges for taking cash payoffs from gamblers and betting on games he officiated in a scandal that rocked the league and raised questions about the integrity of the sport.

2010 — Martin Kaymer wins the PGA Championship in a three-hole playoff against Bubba Watson. Dustin Johnson, with a one-shot lead playing the final hole at Whistling Straits, is penalized two strokes for grounding his club in a bunker on the last hole. The two-shot penalty sends him into a tie for fifth.

2012 — Felix Hernandez pitches the Seattle Mariners’ first perfect game and the 23rd in baseball history, overpowering the Tampa Bay Rays in a brilliant 1-0 victory. It’s the third perfect game in baseball this season.

2012 — The U.S. breaks a 75-year winless streak at Azteca Stadium with an 80th-minute goal by Michael Orozco Fiscal and Tim Howard’s late sprawling saves in a 1-0 victory over Mexico.

2014 — Mo’Ne Davis, one of two girls at the Little League World Series, throws a two-hitter to help Philadelphia beat Nashville 4-0 in the opener for both teams. Davis, the first girl to appear for a U.S. team in South Williamsport since 2004, has eight strikeouts and no walks.

Compiled by the Associated Press

And finally

Felix Hernandez pitches a perfect game. Watch and listen here.