Mets recall catcher Kevin Plawecki from Triple-A Las Vegas  —  NEW YORK (AP) The New York Mets have recalled catcher Kevin Plawecki from Triple-A Las Vegas and activated left-hander Tommy Milone from the disabled list.  —  Plawecki replaces catcher Rene Rivera, who was awarded to the Chicago Cubs on a waiver claim.

White Sox place Reynaldo Lopez on 10-day disabled list with strained back  —  White Sox starting pitcher Reynaldo Lopez on being removed from the fifth inning against the Rangers with right side soreness on Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017.  (Colleen Kane/Chicago Tribune)

Cubs Claim Rene Rivera From Mets  —  The Cubs have claimed catcher Rene Rivera off waivers from the Mets, the teams have announced.  To clear space for Rivera on their roster, the Cubs have designated righty Aaron Brooks for assignment.  —  Rivera is the latest veteran to leave the Mets this month …

Umps unhappy with discipline for Kinsler, standing behind Angel Hernandez  —  Ian Kinsler had his say.  Now, the umpires will have theirs.  —  Today, the World Umpires Association issued a statement about Major League Baseball's discipline of second baseman Ian Kinsler following …

Happ's bat, Quintana's arm lead Cubs over Blue Jays 4-3 (Aug 19, 2017)  —  CHICAGO (AP) Rookie Ian Happ hit his 18th home run, Jose Quintana pitched six effective innings and the Chicago Cubs beat the Toronto Blue Jays 4-3 Saturday to keep up their success against AL opponents.

Cardinals call on Lucas, swap out Mayers for bullpen refresh  —  PITTSBURGH  • The plan, going into the eighth inning with an eight-run lead, was to give rookie Mike Mayers a chance to showcase his successful transition from starter to reliever.  Mayers had taken a bruising …

Moore pitches into 8th, Giants beat Phillies 10-2  —  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Matt Moore took his time walking off the mound after Giants manager Bruce Bochy came out to replace him in the eighth inning.  —  Moore wanted to enjoy the ovation from the crowd at AT&T Park, something he hadn't heard for quite some time.

Marlins win 6th of 7, 3-1 over Mets  —  NEW YORK (AP) — J.T. Realmuto has emerged as one of the leaders of the surging Miami Marlins.  It was the catcher's family who may have made the most noise on Friday night at Citi Field.  —  Realmuto hit a two-run homer as Miami notched their sixth win …

Washington Nationals roll to easy win over San Diego Padres  —  SAN DIEGO — Howie Kendrick homered and last-minute starter Matt Grace threw 4 1/3 scoreless innings as the Washington Nationals beat the San Diego Padres 7-1 on Friday night.  —  Kendrick christened the game with his seventh homer …

Mike Moustakas is about to break one of baseball's most meager home run records  —  In this year of the Three True Outcomes, all sorts of long-ball records have and will be broken.  Just last week, we saw Miami's Giancarlo Stanton blow past the Marlins' single-season home run record of 42, set 21 years ago by Gary Sheffield.

McFarland, Shipley candidates for Sunday  —  Manager Torey Lovullo said the Diamondbacks are waiting to get through Saturday night's game against the Twins before naming a starter for Sunday's series finale.  —  Ideally, the club would like to use reliever T.J. McFarland as the starter and go with a “bullpen day” game on Sunday.

Reds showing off outfield arms  —  ATLANTA — When they were teammates at high-Class A Bakersfield, Reds catcher Tucker Barnhart saw Billy Hamilton get to just about any ball hit to him near shortstop.  The problem was the throw.  —  For Bakersfield in 2012, Hamilton had 25 errors in 77 games at shortstop.

Zack Cozart out of Reds lineup after being hit by a pitch in the shin  —  ATLANTA — Zack Cozart's left leg was wrapped as he limped around the Reds' clubhouse before Saturday's game against the Braves.  The shortstop was hit in the left shin by Braves reliever Rex Brothers in Friday's 5-3 Reds win.

Three up, three down: Bettis is back for Rockies, Stanton could be gone from Marlins  —  Rockies starter Chad Bettis delivers to home plate during the fourth inning against the Braves at Coors Field on Aug. 14.  (Justin Edmonds / Getty Images)  —  A look at what's trending this week in Major League Baseball:

Hey Mets, stop the bull with starters and sign Wade Davis  —  BOSTON - If anything good for the Mets came out of getting swept in the Subway Series, it should be seeing first-hand what a dominant bullpen can do for a team.  —  Times have changed, after all.