d similar losing streaks meet as the Los Angeles Angels and Tampa Bay Rays play four games at Tropicana Field, with both teams desperately trying to rega

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Two teams with nearly identical records and similar losing streaks meet as the Los Angeles Angels and Tampa Bay Rays play four games at Tropicana Field, with both teams desperately trying to regain positive momentum before the All-Star break.The team, we played our tail off. We battled, Rays starter Chris Archer said Sunday after another late-game meltdown turned into a 5-1 loss to the Tigers to complete a four-game sweep. Its a tough one to lose because we really battled up until the end.The Rays (33-48) have lost 16 of 18 games as they officially enter the second half of the season, and their bullpen has given up runs in 17 of those games. On Sunday, the Rays had a 1-0 lead in the eighth inning, only to see reliever Xavier Cedeno allow two inherited runners to score, with more runs coming in the ninth.Los Angeles (33-49) is coming off a 10-5 loss to Boston, and aside from a ridiculous 21-2 win on Saturday that included 22 hits and an 11-run seventh inning, nothing has been clicking for the Angels, who have dropped 11 of their last 13 games.The Angels will try to shake things up a bit Monday, with 25-year-old right-hander Nick Tropeano called up from Triple-A to start against the Rays. Tropeano is 3-2 with a 3.25 ERA in previous stints this season, and struck out 10 Rays batters in a 3-1 loss in May, giving up seven hits in his outing.Tropeanos callup means Jhoulys Chacin has been demoted to the bullpen after continued ineffectiveness.Im fine with it, Chacin told the teams official site Sunday. I know the last few games I havent done my job. Honestly, I dont feel bad that they sent me to the bullpen. I actually feel good that they have confidence in me to keep me on the team.The Rays counter with left-hander Matt Moore, whose last start was a rare bright spot for Tampa Bay in recent weeks. Moore threw seven innings of shutout baseball in a 4-0 win against the Red Sox on Wednesday. He is 4-5 with a 4.67 ERA, though both of the Angels big bats, Mike Trout and Albert Pujols, each has a home run in eight at-bats against him.Rays manager Kevin Cash was optimistic his team could build off a strong start by Archer on Sunday -- zero runs on three hits in 5 2/3 innings with 10 strikeouts. He doesnt have many bullpen arms he trusts, so he will need Moore to last as long as possible before he has to turn to any relievers.Cant help but feel really good about what Chris Archer did today, Cash said. He kicked it in gear and kind of showed the Archer we know hes very capable of being. That was an outstanding effort by Arch. Discount Nike SB Shoes . Perez, 35, posted a 1-2 record with a 3.69 earned-run average in 19 relief appearances last season. His season ended Aug. 9 due to a torn ligament in his left elbow. Perez joins infielder Andy LaRoche and catcher Mike Nickeas with minor-league agreements for 2014 that include invitations to attend spring training. Wholesale Nike Shoes China . The 26-year-old Ireland striker, who has four goals this season, has signed a three-and-a-half year contract with his new club. http://www.discountnikesb.com/ . -- Team after team passed on Andre Ellington in the draft. Cheap Nike SB From China . Jason Zucker and Matt Cooke also scored for Minnesota, which has won five of six. Kuemper made five saves in the first, nine in the second, and nine in the third. The rookies best save came with 2:17 left in the third period when he denied former Wild forward Matt Cullen from just outside of the crease on the right side. Cheap Nike SB Shoes . -- Whether Jeremy Hill deserves a prominent role in LSUs offence this early in the season is a matter for debate. MOSCOW -- Russian President Vladimir Putin hit out at discrimination against the countrys banned track and field athletes at a Kremlin send-off ceremony Wednesday for its depleted Olympic team.Fencers, triathletes and table tennis players became the latest team of Russians to be cleared to compete in the Olympics by the governing bodies of their sports ahead of the Moscow ceremony, but the IAAF rejected a bid by the bulk of the track and field team to be reinstated.More than 100 Russians from the 387-strong Olympic team have been banned so far from going to Rio de Janeiro.We cant accept indiscriminate disqualification of our athletes with an absolutely clean doping history, Putin said. We cannot and will not accept what in fact is pure discrimination.Putin said the athletes banned from the Olympics were victims of a campaign to present Russian sports in a bad light. He spoke with two-time Olympic pole-vaulting champion Yelena Isinbayeva, the most high-profile of the 67 track and field athletes banned from the games, standing beside him.Fighting back tears, Isinbayeva told Rio-bound Russian athletes: Show them what youre able to do -- for yourself and for us too.As the athletes walked across Red Square to meet Putin, some posed for selfies with Vitaly Mutko, whose sports ministry was accused by the World Anti-Doping Agency of orchestrating the doping cover-up. The sports minister has been blocked by the International Olympic Committee from attending the games next month but he remains in Putins government.The IAAF is the only sport to impose a near-blanket ban on Russians, only deeming one -- long jumper Darya Klishina -- eligible for Rio.The situation went beyond the legal field as well as common sense, Putin told the audience, which included many of the banned athletes. Its a well-planned campaign which targeted our athletes, which included double-standards and the concept of collective punishment which has nothing to do with justice or even basic legal norms.Not only have our athletes who never faced any specific accusations been hurt -- this is a blow to the entire global sports and the Olympic Games. Clearly, the absence of Russian athletes who were leaders in some of the sports will affect the competition.There was positive news, however, from Putins ally, Alisher Usmanov, the Russian billionaire who is president of the Intternational Fencing Federation.ddddddddddddThe governing body said it would allow the 16 Russian fencers who have qualified for the Rio Games to compete and it approved four reserves. The decision came after the FIE said it had re-examined 197 tests taken from Russian fencers in 35 countries over the last two years which all came back negative.The FIE said the fencers heading to Rio were not implicated in the latest report by WADA investigator Richard McLaren, who found that four positive doping tests in Russian fencing disappeared in recent years.Four positive results in Russian triathlon were also covered up, according to McLaren. The International Triathlon Union said the three men and three women who qualified for Rio are not mentioned in the McLaren report and have not served past doping suspensions.They have all been tested outside of Russia, the ITU said in a statement. Therefore, ITU will recommend to the IOC that these six athletes be permitted to compete in Rio next month.The Table Tennis Federation also announced that the three Russians who qualified for Rio should be allowed to compete because they were not implicated in the McLaren report, which classified one doping case in their sport as a disappearing positive.Russian entries to the Olympics must still be examined and upheld by an expert from the Court of Arbitration for Sport.The International Gymnastics Federation said it has established a pool of eligible Russian athletes and is awaiting IOC approval.Individual sports federations were given the task of deciding which athletes should be cleared to compete in Rio by the International Olympic Committee on Sunday. In his native Germany, IOC President Thomas Bach is facing increasing criticism for failing to impose a complete ban on Russias team.Germanys national anti-doping agency chief Andrea Gotzmann said the decision does not follow the IOCs declared zero tolerance policy, saying Bach has missed a huge chance.Olympic discuss champion Robert Harting said he was ashamed of Thomas Bach.---This story has been corrected to show that Isinbayevas first name is Yelena, not Irina.---Harris reported from London. AP Sports Writer Nesha Starcevic in Frankfurt, Germany contributed to this report. ' ' '