Brewers among several teams to inquire about Red Sox ace Jon Lester  —  The Brewers, a team with a history of being aggressive at the trade deadline, is among several teams to be making a play for Red Sox ace Jon Lester.  —  Milwaukee, famous for acquiring CC Sabathia in July 2008, leads the NL Central by 1½ games.

Morrow likely to pitch in relief upon return  —  Gibbons hoping to have veteran right-hander active by September  —  BOSTON — When Blue Jays right-hander Brandon Morrow eventually returns this season, he'll likely be pitching out of the bullpen.  —  Manager John Gibbons gave some credence …

Travis d'Arnaud homers to back Bartolo Colon as Mets beat Phillies for 14th win of July … It is a chore, of course, but the Mets lately have been doing their best to drag their followers from doubt to faith, from realism to magic.  —  With Monday night's 7-1 victory over the Phillies …

Cishek, deGrom named co-NL Players of Week  —  A pair of young hurlers — Marlins closer Steve Cishek and Mets rookie Jacob deGrom — were named the co-National League Players of the Week on Monday after outstanding performances from the mound for the week of July 21-27.

Cole hurls five scoreless innings in rehab start  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Gerrit Cole's first rehab start for Triple-A Indianapolis won't make Pirates fans any more patient waiting for his return.  —  Taking the mound for the Indians on Monday night in Rochester, Cole blanked the Red Wings for five innings on five hits.

Bullpen remains Tigers' focus at Trade Deadline  —  Dombrowski keeping tabs on relief market even after making deal for Soria  —  DETROIT — Could last week's trade for Joakim Soria be the opener of a two-part move to upgrade the Tigers' bullpen?  Possibly.

Trader Jack?  As Seattle's GM struggles to complete deals, some rival executives wonder  —  The Mariners already have completed one trade, acquiring designated hitter Kendrys Morales from the Twins last week.  General manager Jack Zduriencik could make one or two more deals …

Worley Tosses 4-Hitter, Pirates Beat Giants 5-0  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Vance Worley tossed a four-hitter for his first career shutout, and the Pittsburgh Pirates pounded Madison Bumgarner early in a 5-0 win over the struggling San Francisco Giants on Monday night.  —  Worley (4-1) struck out three and walked one.

Melvin, aides prep for Trade Deadline  —  ST. PETERSBURG — Doug Melvin needed some extra chairs in the visiting general manager's suite at Tropicana Field on Monday.  —  With the non-waiver Trade Deadline looming at 3 p.m. CT on Thursday, Melvin led a larger-than-usual group of Brewers officials …

Carter Leads Astros Homer-Happy Win Over Athletics  —  HOUSTON — Chris Carter, Jason Castro, Marc Krauss and Matt Dominguez each hit a home run as the Houston Astros snapped a five-game skid with a 7-3 win over the Oakland Athletics on Monday night.  —  Carter hit a monstrous three-run shot …

Nationals trade rumors as deadline nears  —  Thursday's non-waiver trade deadline now stands only three days away, and the Nationals are, as ever, somewhat hard to read.  They “seem to be very busy on multiple fronts,” as one executive from a selling team put it.