The Sports Report: MLB puts Julio Urías on administrative leave

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

From Jack Harris: Major League Baseball placed Dodgers pitcher Julio Urías on administrative leave Wednesday, three days after he was arrested on suspicion of felony domestic violence.

Urías will remain on administrative leave “until further notice,” per a statement from the league, under the domestic violence policy it jointly negotiated with the MLB Players Assn.

While Urías didn’t travel with the team to Miami, the league’s move to place him on leave had been expected.

It clears the way for the Dodgers to add Ryan Pepiot to their roster to start Thursday’s game against the Marlins — Urías was originally scheduled to be the team’s starter for the game — and avoids the potential for grievance had the Dodgers not used Urías as planned while he was still healthy and on the active roster.

“The Dodgers take all allegations of the kind in this case very seriously, and we do not condone or excuse any acts of domestic violence,” the Dodgers said in a statement. “We are fully cooperating with MLB’s investigation and support MLB’s and the Commissioner’s enforcement of the policy.”

Manager Dave Roberts said, “I don’t know enough yet” when asked if Urías’ situation could be resolved before the end of the regular season.

“Obviously these are very serious circumstances,” Roberts said. “I would expect it to take the time needed to make sure that the right actions are taken. So I don’t know how long it will take, but I think we’re expecting it to take some time.”

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From Jack Harris: Lance Lynn’s home run problems still aren’t solved. And the Dodgers’ pitching problems sure don’t seem to be either.

A day after Clayton Kershaw seemed limited by shoulder troubles, and hours after Julio Urías was placed on administrative leave following his Sunday night arrest on suspicion of felony domestic violence, the Dodgers watched another potential October option in Lynn struggle mightily Wednesday in an 11-4 loss to the Miami Marlins.

In his second straight troublesome start, following a seven-run outing against the Atlanta Braves last week, Lynn came unglued in the bottom of the fifth at loanDepot Park.

He gave up three home runs in the inning, raising his MLB-leading total to 40. He was charged with two more runs after departing with two outs, pushing his ERA back over 6.00 following an eight-run, 4⅔-inning effort.

And, most alarmingly, he looked little like a pitcher the Dodgers could trust in the postseason, another question mark on their increasingly makeshift pitching staff.

“Just an absolute disaster,” Lynn said. “I blew up. Can’t happen.”

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Dodgers box score

All MLB box scores

NL WEST STANDINGS

Dodgers, 84-54
Arizona, 72-68, 13 GB
San Francisco, 70-70, 15 GB
San Diego, 66-75, 19.5 GB
Colorado, 51-88, 33.5 GB

WILD-CARD STANDINGS
top three teams qualify

Philadelphia, 77-62
Chicago, 76-64
Miami, 72-67

Arizona, 72-68, 0.5 GB
Cincinnati, 73-69, 0.5 GB
San Francisco, 70-70, 2.5 GB
San Diego, 66-75, 7 GB

For full standings, go here

ANGELS

From Sarah Valenzuela: Amid all the turmoil that has unfolded with the Angels’ season in the last month, alone, Luis Rengifo has quietly emerged as one of the best hitters on the team.

In Wednesday’s 10-3 loss to the Baltimore Orioles, the Angels utility player hit a two-run homer and extended his hit streak to 14 games. Patrick Sandoval got the loss, going five innings, giving up seven runs, four earned, and seven hits, while walking four and striking out three.

Rengifo’s home run came in the bottom of the third inning off of Orioles’ starter Kyle Gibson’s 86-mph changeup, energizing the Angel Stadium crowd. He went two for four on the night.

It’s important to remember that, even though Rengifo’s season has had its fair share of bad moments, his improvements at the plate are no accident and represent tangible, continued growth in his career.

“To his credit,” manager Phil Nevin said recently of Rengifo, “he started the season slow, wasn’t playing every day, but was certainly playing enough, he just had some ups and downs, but stuck with it, kept working.”

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Angels box score

All MLB box scores

AL WEST STANDINGS

Houston, 80-61
Seattle, 78-61, 1 GB
Texas, 76-63, 3 GB
Angels, 64-76, 15.5 GB
Oakland, 43-97, 36.5 GB

WILD-CARD STANDINGS
top three teams qualify

Tampa Bay, 85-55
Seattle, 78-61
Toronto, 77-63

Texas, 76-63, 0.5 GB
Boston, 72-68, 5 GB
New York, 70-69, 6.5 GB
Cleveland, 67-73, 10 GB
Angels, 64-76, 13 GB

For full standings, go here

RAMS

From Gary Klein: Rams star receiver Cooper Kupp, who has been nursing a hamstring injury, will not play in the opener Sunday at Seattle, coach Sean McVay said Wednesday.

“This is something that we probably thought was going to be the situation for a while now,” McVay said before practice. “So this isn’t anything new to us. But rather just put it to bed, not have to continue to answer questions and want to be able to get Cooper back when he’s ready to go.”

The question is whether the Rams will put Kupp on injured reserve, sidelining him for at least four games. Those include games against the San Francisco 49ers, Cincinnati Bengals and Indianapolis Colts.

Kupp would be able to return Oct. 8 against the Philadelphia Eagles at SoFi Stadium.

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CHARGERS

From Jeff Miller: The contract extension — and all its zeroes, history and possibilities — never came up.

The NFL’s biggest deal in history was so close to being reality that the quarter-of-a-billion-dollar beast might as well have been sitting right there with them at the charming eatery in equally charming Florence, a town of 9,500 tucked along the Oregon coast.

Instead, the two longtime friends — Justin Herbert and Jack Johnson — sat with fathers Mark and Lane and soaked up the atmosphere of the 1285 Restobar and one another over laughs and plates of pasta.

“It was like the football game at the local high school just got over and we’re sitting there shooting it, talking about normal, everyday life,” Jack recalled. “If I had to put a word to it, it was serendipitous.”

In just a few days, Herbert would return to Southern California and the Chargers and sign his name to the five-year, $262.5-million deal that made him the league’s highest-paid player in average annual salary.

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USC FOOTBALL

From Chuck Schilken: Caleb Williams already has a Heisman Trophy.

He very well could have another in a few months.

After that, the star USC quarterback is expected to enter the 2024 NFL draft, where he most likely would be snatched up by the first team on the clock.

But what if he doesn’t want to be selected by the first team?

Williams has options, one of which would be returning to the Trojans for his senior season — a possibility his father, Carl Williams, put on the radar in a GQ article that published Wednesday.

“He’s got two shots at the apple,” Carl Williams told the magazine. “So if there’s not a good situation, the truth is, he can come back to school.”

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LAKERS

From Dan Woike: Inside the Thomas & Mack Center at the Las Vegas Summer League, two front-office employees from the same NBA organization wondered about the most talented free agent still on the board.

One a scale of 1 to 100, they were asked, how would they feel about Christian Wood, the big man with the smooth jumper and the rough reputation, signing with a team for the league minimum?

One scout quickly gave a score in the 80s, citing Wood’s undeniable talent and usefulness on offense. The other executive snickered. His number was lower.

“Zero,” he said.

Late Tuesday night, the Lakers put themselves high on that scale, agreeing to sign Wood to a two-year deal with a player option for the second year.

In terms of talent versus cost, it’s an absolute bargain. However,

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GALAXY

From Kevin Baxter: The Galaxy on Wednesday promoted Tom Braun to president of business operations and chief operating officer, making official a move that has long been anticipated.

Galaxy head coach and sporting director Greg Vanney will continue to lead all soccer operations, assisted by Will Kuntz, the senior vice president of player personnel. The Galaxy have been without a president since Chris Klein, the team’s chief executive the last 11 seasons, was fired amid a fan boycott in May.

“We are excited to formalize this new structure that will provide tremendous opportunity to key members of our proven leadership team with the Galaxy,” Dan Beckerman, president and CEO of AEG, the Galaxy’s parent company, said in a statement. “We are confident [Braun] will enhance our internal culture and lead our business operations strategically forward in new and innovative ways.”

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U.S. OPEN

Soaked with sweat as the temperature neared 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 Celsius) on the hottest day at this year’s U.S. Open, 2021 champion Daniil Medvedev walked slowly to towel off between points of his victory Wednesday, looked into a courtside camera and issued what sounded like a mix between a warning and a plea.

“You cannot imagine,” he said. “One player (is) gonna die, and they’re gonna see.”

“The only thing that is a little bit, let’s call it dangerous, is that the question is: How far could we go?” Medvedev, a 27-year-old Russian seeded No. 3, said after eliminating Andrey Rublev 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 to reach the semifinals at Flushing Meadows for the fourth time.

“I’m not sure what can we do. Because probably we cannot stop the tournament for four days — because it’s been, what, three, four days it’s been brutal like this? — because then it basically ruins everything: the TV, even the tickets, everything. It ruins everything,” said Medvedev, who said he needed an ice bath and something to eat after leaving the court. “So I don’t think this could be done.”

U.S. Open results

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1892 — Jim Corbett knocks out John L. Sullivan in the 21st round in New Orleans to win the first world heavyweight title fought with gloves under the Marquis of Queensberry rules.

1941 — Bobby Riggs wins his second U.S. men’s national title by beating Frank Kovacs, 5-7, 6-1, 6-3, 6-3.

1952 — Australia’s Frank Sedgman wins the men’s title in the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association championships for the second year with a three-set victory over Gardnar Mulloy. Maureen Connolly wins the women’s title.

1953 — Maureen Connolly becomes the first woman to complete the Grand Slam when she beats Doris Hart, 6-2, 6-4, in the U.S. Open women’s singles final.

1958 — Australia’s Ashley Cooper beats countryman Malcolm Anderson in five sets to win the men’s title in the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association championships. Althea Gibson comes back to beat Darlene Hard for the women’s title. Cooper beats Anderson, 6-2, 3-6, 4-6, 10-8, 8-6. Gibson beats Darlene Hard, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2.

1969 — Margaret Court beats Nancy Richey, 6-2, 6-2 to capture the U.S. Open women’s singles title.

1970 — Jockey Willie Shoemaker rides Dares J to a 1½-length victory at Del Mar to become the winningest jockey. Shoemaker’s win breaks the all-time record of 6,033 set by Johnny Longden four years earlier.

1974 — US Open Women’s Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: Billie Jean King wins her 4th and final US singles title; beats Evonne Goolagong Cawley of Australia 3-6, 6-3, 7-5.

1980 —John McEnroe beats Bjorn Borg of Sweden 7-6, 6-1, 6-7, 5-7, 6-4 to win his second straight U.S. Open men’s title.

1991 — Seventeen-year-old Monica Seles beats 34-year-old Martina Navratilova, 7-6 (1), 6-1, to win her first U.S. Open women’s singles title.

1993 — Mark Whiten of the St. Louis Cardinals has the greatest game at the plate in major league history in the nightcap of a doubleheader against Cincinnati. In the 15-2 win, Whiten hits four home runs and drives in 12 runs, becoming the only player to accomplish both feats in one game.

1997 — In the new Arthur Ashe Stadium court, 16-year-old Martina Hingis and 17-year-old Venus Williams play the youngest Grand Slam final in the Open Era. Hingis wins her first U.S. Open title 6-0, 6-4. Patrick Rafter beats Greg Rusedski, 6-3, 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, to win the men’s crown.

2002 — Venus and Serena Williams meet in a prime-time U.S. Open women’s singles final for the second straight year. Younger sister Serena comes out on top, defeating the two-time defending champion, 6-4, 6-3, for her second U.S. Open women’s singles title.

2003 — In the closest 1-2-3 finish in IRL history, Sam Hornish Jr. edges Scott Dixon and Bryan Herta at the finish line to win his second straight Delphi Indy 300. His margin of victory is .0099 seconds, and just .0100 separates first and third place.

2003 — Andy Roddick wins his first Grand Slam tournament title, defeating Juan Carlos Ferrero, 6-3, 7-6 (2), 6-3, in the U.S. Open men’s singles final.

2012 — Bob and Mike Bryan beat Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek 6-3, 6-4 to win the U.S. Open men’s doubles title for a record 12th Grand Slam championship. The American twins break a tie with Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde for the most in the Open era, which started in 1968.

2014 — Serena Williams wins her third consecutive U.S. Open championship and 18th major title overall. Williams takes 75 minutes to beat good friend Caroline Wozniacki 6-3, 6-3 and matches Chris Evert’s total of six championships at the U.S. Open. Bob and Mike Bryan win a record-tying fifth U.S. Open doubles championship for their 100th tournament title.

—Compiled by the Associated Press

And finally...

Mark Whiten hits four home runs. Watch and listen here.