The Sports Report: Dodgers send Miguel Vargas to the minors

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

From Jack Harris: What had increasingly felt like an inevitability in recent weeks became reality Sunday.

The Dodgers optioned struggling rookie Miguel Vargas to triple-A Oklahoma City, after he entered the All-Star break batting .195 and in the midst of a five for 63 slump.

Now, they’ll have to reevaluate exactly who to play at second base in his absence, facing a key roster question less than a month from Major League Baseball’s Aug. 1 trade deadline.

Vargas’ demotion wasn’t much of a surprise.

Despite arriving in the major leagues last year as a highly touted prospect, and making the club’s opening day roster this season as their starting second baseman, the 23-year-old never found his footing as an everyday player.

He batted just .202 through his first 46 games. He rebounded slightly in May, posting a .257 average with 16 extra-base hits during an encouraging 30-game stretch. But recently, he had started to spiral again.

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NL WEST STANDINGS

Dodgers, 51-38
Arizona, 52-39
San Francisco, 49-41, 2.5 GB
San Diego, 43-47, 8.5 GB
Colorado, 34-57, 18 GB

WILD-CARD STANDINGS

Miami, 53-39
Arizona, 52-39
San Francisco, 49-41
Philadelphia, 48-41, 0.5 GB
Milwaukee, 49-42, 0.5 GB
San Diego, 43-47, 6 GB
Chicago, 42-47, 6.5 GB
New York, 42-48, 7 GB
Pittsburgh, 41-49, 8 GB

ANGELS

From Steve Henson: It was hardly more than a year ago that the bottom last fell out of an Angels season, a franchise-record 14-game losing streak so unexpected and horrific that widely respected manager Joe Maddon was unceremoniously canned.

The skein in June left the Angels four games under .500 and 3.5 games out of the final wild-card spot. They never recovered.

Here it is 13 months later and the Angels have lost nine of 10 entering the All-Star break. They fell 10-5 to the Dodgers on Saturday night at Dodger Stadium after losing 11-4 a day earlier, dropping them to eighth in the American League wild card standings.

Three wild-card berths are at stake, and the Angels are 4.5 games out of the final spot. In other words, they are in a worse position than last season after the 14-game losing streak.

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Angels first-round pick Nolan Schanuel is eager to mirror Zach Neto’s rapid rise

AL WEST STANDINGS

Texas, 52-39
Houston, 50-41, 2 GB
Seattle, 45-44, 6 GB
Angels, 45-46, 7 GB
Oakland, 25-67, 27.5 GB

WILD-CARD STANDINGS
top three teams qualify

Baltimore, 54-35
Toronto, 50-41
Houston, 50-41
New York, 49-42, 1 GB
Boston, 48-43, 2 GB
Seattle, 45-44, 4 GB
Angels, 45-46, 5 GB
Minnesota, 45-46, 5 GB

SOCCER

From Helene Elliott: Trinity Rodman has her father’s last name and fierce competitive instincts, but she has not had Dennis Rodman’s constant presence in her life.

A rising star on the U.S. women’s World Cup soccer team, Trinity knows her father best through viewing videos of his career dominating the boards with the “Bad Boy” Detroit Pistons and indomitable Chicago Bulls. He was a mold-breaker who dyed his hair different colors and partied outrageously but was almost frighteningly intense on defense, leading the NBA in rebounds per game for seven consecutive seasons and winning five NBA championships and two defensive player of the year awards during a Hall of Fame career.

Trinity and her brother, DJ, who recently joined USC’s basketball team as a graduate transfer, were born in Newport Beach and raised by their mother, Michelle Moyer, the third of Dennis Rodman’s three ex-wives. He kept Trinity and DJ at a financial and emotional distance. He didn’t let them get to know him, but they made a point of at least getting to know who he was as a basketball player.

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Matt Turner stopped two penalty kicks, and the United States beat Canada 3-2 in a shootout after a 2-2 draw Sunday night for a berth in a CONCACAF Gold Cup semifinal against Panama.

In a game that was scoreless until the 88th minute, the U.S. tied the score when Canada’s Scott Kennedy had an own goal in the 115th minute, six minutes after Jacob Shaffelburg put Canada ahead. Brandon Vázquez gave the U.S. a 1-0 lead but Steven Vitória made it 1-1 in the third minute of stoppage time with a penalty kick after a hand ball on Miles Robinson.

Turner stopped Vitória’s opening penalty kick with his right hand, Vázquez kicked his attempt over the crossbar and Turner dived left to bat away Liam Fraser’s attempt.

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Elizabeth Eddy scored the tiebreaking goal in the 76th minute, and host Angel City rallied past the North Carolina Courage 2-1 on Sunday.

The Courage gave up two goals in a game for the first time since May 6.

Brianna Pinto scored in the 15th minute for North Carolina, running onto a cutback pass from Frankie Tagliaferri and sending it into the lower right corner.

Three minutes later, Savannah McCaskill equalized, getting her body on Scarlett Camberos’ cross to score from close range. It was the first goal North Carolina had conceded since June 3.

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From Steve Henson: David Brown hears the ball. As it rolls across the soccer pitch, it contains rattles that make the crunching sound of soldiers marching through a sand pit. He moves toward the ball and responds with measured steps when a coach yells, “left, left.”

The ball strikes Brown squarely on the calf. He listens, finds the ball and ping-pongs it between his feet before giving it a swift kick. The attack on goal is averted and his teammates begin an assault of their own.

Brown is a center back on the United States Blind Soccer team, assembled only a few months ago with gold medal dreams and a five-year timetable ahead of the Los Angeles Olympics and Paralympics in 2028.

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BEACH VOLLEYBALL

From Annika Johnson: The sun beat down on a full stadium at the AVP Hermosa Beach Open as Hawaiian brothers Taylor and Trevor Crabb battled for the title Sunday afternoon.

Second-seeded Trevor Crabb and partner Theo Brunner prevailed over Taylor Crabb and partner Taylor Sander, who were seeded third, in three games, 19-21, 21-13, 15-10.

Taylor and Trevor have competed against each other before, but Sunday was the elder Crabb’s turn to triumph. At 6 feet 8 and 6-5, respectively, Crabb and Brunner hit their stride in the second set by imposing unbreakable blocks.

Taylor, who was the shortest player in the final match at 6-foot, and 6-4 Sander sent the ball to open spots in the hot sand early as if part of a calculated missile launch, but in the end they struggled to get over or around the imposing blocks of the eventual champions.

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SPARKS

Brittney Griner scored 29 points, including her 25th dunk as a pro, and the Phoenix Mercury held on for a 78-72 win over the Sparks in a matchup between two struggling teams Sunday.

Diana Taurasi had 12 of her 22 points in the fourth quarter to put her fewer than 100 points from 10,000 in her career. Moriah Jefferson scored 11 for the Mercury (4-14), who had lost three straight and nine of 10 for the worst record in the WNBA. Griner, who matched her season high for points, had 11 rebounds.

Nneka Ogwumike had 20 points and 14 boards to lead the short-handed Sparks (7-12), who have lost five straight. Jordin Canada scored 16, Azura Stevens added 13 and Jasmine Thomas 10.

The Sparks were without five players and lost starter Dearica Hamby to a sprained ankle midway through the first half.

SPORTS ON TV

Local teams on TV today:
All times Pacific

7:30 p.m., NBA TV, Clippers at Sacramento Kings (Summer League)

The rest of today’s sports on TV listings can be found here.

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1926 — Bobby Jones wins the U.S. Open golf tournament for the second time with a 293 total.

1934 — Carl Hubbell strikes out Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons and Joe Cronin in succession, but the American League comes back to win the All-Star game 9-7 at the Polo Grounds.

1936 — Philadelphia’s Chuck Klein hits four home runs in a 9-6 10-inning victory over the Pirates at Pittsburgh’s Forbes Field.

1951 — Britain’s Randy Turpin defeats Sugar Ray Robinson in 15 rounds to win the world middleweight title and give Robinson his second loss in 135 bouts.

1971 — Lee Trevino rebounds from a double-bogey on the next to last hole with a birdie on the final hole to win the 100th British Open by one stroke over Lu Liang-Huan. Trevino, who won the U.S. Open a month earlier, is the fourth golfer to win both championships in the same year, joining Bobby Jones (1926, 1930), Gene Sarazen (1932), and Ben Hogan (1953).

1976 — Johnny Miller shoots a 66 in the final round to beat 19-year-old Spaniard Seve Ballesteros by six strokes to take the British Open. Ballesteros, who starts the final round two strokes ahead of Miller, shoots a 74 and ends tied for second place with Jack Nicklaus.

1992 — The Major Soccer League, the only major nationwide pro soccer competition in the United States, folds after 14 seasons.

1999 — Team USA wins the Women’s World Cup over China in sudden death. The Americans win 5-4 in penalty kicks, with defender Brandi Chastain kicking in the game winner.

2010 — Paula Creamer wins her first major tournament, never giving up the lead during a steady final round of the U.S. Women’s Open. Creamer shoots a final-round 2-under 69 for a 3-under 281 for the tournament.

2010 — Spain wins soccer’s World Cup after an exhausting 1-0 victory in extra time over the Netherlands. In the end, it’s Andres Iniesta breaking free and scoring a right-footed shot from 8 yards just past the outstretched arms of goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg.

2011 — The United States advances to the semifinals after one of the most exciting games ever at the Women’s World Cup in Dresden, Germany. The U.S. beat Brazil 5-3 on penalty kicks after a 2-2 tie. Abby Wambach scores a thrilling goal to tie it in the 122nd minute, and goalkeeper Hope Solo denies the Brazilians again.

2016 — Andy Murray wins his second Wimbledon title by beating Milos Raonic 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2) on Centre Court.

2016 — Brittany Lang wins her first career major at the U.S. Women’s Open when Anna Nordqvist touches the sand with her club in a bunker for a two-stroke penalty in the three-hole aggregate playoff. The penalty occurs on the second hole of the playoff and is not delivered to the players until they were on the final hole after officials review replays in the latest controversy at a USGA event. Lang seals the win with a short par putt on the final playoff hole, while Nordqvist makes bogey to lose by three shots.

2021 — Ashleigh Barty of Australia wins Wimbledon defeating Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-7, 6-3.

2022 — Wimbledon Men’s Tennis: Novak Đoković wins 4th straight and record equaling 7th Wimbledon singles title with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 win over Nick Kyrgios of Australia; Đoković 21 Grand Slam titles.

—Compiled by the Associated Press

And finally...

The U.S. wins the 1999 Women’s World Cup. Watch and listen here.