Brewers taking calls from teams interested in Greinke  —  By Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel  —  A baseball person familiar with the situation said Wednesday the Milwaukee Brewers were taking calls from teams interested in trading for right-hander Zack Greinke.

Encarnacion, Johnson homer as Jays avoid sweep  —  Encarnacion, Johnson homer as Jays avoid sweep  —  Edwin Encarnacion and Kelly Johnson homered Thursday as the Toronto Blue Jays defeated Oakland 10-4 to end the Athletics' winning streak at seven games.  —  A three-game sweep …

Furcal, Cards win in 12th over Ramirez, Dodgers  —  (AP Photo/St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Chris Lee)  —  ST. LOUIS—The Cardinals look for leadoff man Rafael Furcal to get on base.  He's also done a pretty good job of driving in runs from the top of the order.

Marlins seeking substantial return for Johnson, won't trade Reyes or Buehrle  —  Josh Johnson might have boosted his value with a six-inning, one-hit start Monday vs. the Braves.  (Getty Images)  —  Turns out the Miami Marlins are keeping some of their talents in South Beach.

Dodgers, Rangers join Angels in market for Rays righty Shields  —  James Shields (8-6, 4.39 ERA) has a $9 million team option for next season.  (Getty Images)  —  The rival Rangers and Dodgers have joined the Angels in the hunt for Big Game James Shields, sources told CBSSports.com.

Thursday's pitching preview: Matt Harvey vs. Wade Miley  —  Matt Harvey (7-5, 3.68 ERA with Triple-A Buffalo) will start for the Mets tonight.  —  Harvey is making his Major League debut tonight after starting his season with Triple-A Buffalo.  Harvey allowed six runs and seven hits …

SOURCE: ‘NOTHING CLOSE’ ON BECKETT DEAL  —  According to a major league source, while the Red Sox have fielded some exploratory inquiries on right-hander Josh Beckett, such calls to this point have been little more than exercises in kicking the tires.  At this point, the source said, there is …

Rockies' Marco Scutaro remains most likely player to be traded  —  PHOENIX — Scouts crowded the seats behind home plate, creating the possibility that the Rockies will soon hop on baseball's trading merry-go-round.  —  Marco Scutaro remains the most likely player to be dealt.

Orioles looking into Colon, Liriano, Headley and hitters who can get on base  —  The contending Orioles have broadened their pitching search to inquire about Bartolo Colon and Francisco Liriano since their chances at a high-end starter such as Zack Greinke may not be great.

The third element  —  Cashman: Yanks won't overpay for A-Rod fill-in  —  At a time of injury crisis, general manager Brian Cashman follows a familiar script: He projects confidence the Yankees can weather the loss with internal solutions.  —  He does this to a) bolster the resolve …

Brewers Designate George Kottaras For Assignment  —  The Brewers announced that they designated catcher George Kottaras for assignment.  In related moves, Milwaukee activated catcher Jonathan Lucroy from the 15-day disabled list, optioned infielder Jeff Bianchi to Triple-A and selected the contract of right-hander Jim Henderson.