NY Mets welcome back Jason Vargas to rotation, look to top Marlins again this week  —  Sean Farrell, Staff Writer, @seanfarrell92  —  The Mets are riding high after their three-game sweep of the Diamondbacks.  They have won consecutive games for the first time in a month …

Chicago baseball saw four exciting starts this weekend, but Yu Darvish's meant the most  —  Chicago Tribune  —  Debate which weekend pitching performance meant the most for Chicago's baseball teams until Steve Stone runs out of wisdom, but everyone can agree that back-to-back starts …

Preston Wilson apologizes for making slavery comment during Astros TV broadcast  —  Preston Wilson apologized Saturday for a reference he made to slavery during the television broadcast of the Houston Astros' game against the Cleveland Indians earlier in the day.

Fortnite: How a video game became baseball's most addictive pastime, from MLB to Little League  —  Along with running, throwing, fielding, hitting and hitting for power, there's another skill invaluable to baseball players beyond the five holy tools: Killing time.

It's your turn to debate this ‘legendary’ Milwaukee Brewers trading card lineup  —  Beckett Media and Topps present their all-time legendary trading card line-up for the Milwaukee Brewers Wochit  —  Mike Caldwell or Teddy Higuera?  Pete Vuckovich or Ben Sheets?

Yankees' loaded roster may lead to some tough decisions for Bombers in near future  —  It's a testament to the Yankees' depth that they can put up 10 runs on 14 hits with Gary Sanchez and Didi Gregorius both on the bench and Aaron Judge putting up an 0-fer at the plate.

Cleveland's bullpen blues keeping the AL Central in play  —  Two years ago, the Cleveland bullpen led the way when the Indians overcame significant injuries in their starting rotation and won the American League pennant.  —  Now, the fickle nature of relief pitching is holding the AL Central favorites back.

Kevin Cash keeps thinking outside the box with use of Sergio Romo  —  The most interesting news from the weekend was Sergio Romo's starting consecutive games for the Tampa Bay Rays.  It was pretty unusual for two reasons: (1) Romo's previous 588 career appearances in the majors all came in relief …

Detroit Tigers thoughts: Scouting Casey Mize; Liriano on trade block?  —  MINNEAPOLIS — Back on the beat after five days on a special assignment, which sent me to Auburn to watch junior right-hander Casey Mize, who is expected to be one of the top picks - if not the top pick - in the upcoming Major League Baseball draft.

Tim Tebow timeline: Has he dispelled doubt on the diamond?  —  From the outset, Tim Tebow's pro baseball journey was going to follow its own unique path.  Making the move to baseball as a 29-year-old in 2016 was a bold step.  Tebow had not played the game competitively since his junior year of high school.

Phillies minor league report: Dylan Cozens leads IronPigs to sweep, JoJo Romero picks up first win for Reading  —  A handful of Phillies minor-league affliates were in play Sunday.  Here's how they fared:  —  INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE (AAA)  —  Lehigh Valley 5, Syracuse 2 …

O'Neill starting in third consecutive game; Garcia at SS  —  The Cardinals, coming off a four-game split with the Philadelphia Phillies, host the Kansas City Royals Monday at 7:15 p.m. in the first of three at Busch Stadium.  —  The teams will also meet Tuesday at 7:15 p.m. and on Wednesday …

Didi Gregorius returns to lineup as New York Yankees visit Texas Rangers  —  New York's Didi Gregorius will return to the lineup on Monday when the Yankees square off against the Texas Rangers in the first of a three-game series at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas.

Brewers' Chase Anderson returns to start against Diamondbacks  —  MILWAUKEE — Chase Anderson will come off the disabled list and return to the mound Monday night when the Milwaukee Brewers open a 10-game homestand with the first of three against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Miller Park.

Jerad Eickhoff suffers setback in return to Phillies rotation  —  Jerad Eickhoff's rehab program has been put on hold after he felt a sensation in his fingertips on Sunday during the end of his start at triple-A Lehigh Valley.  —  The Phillies starter is working his way back from a back muscle injury …

Steve Stone on White Sox prospects: Eloy Jimenez is ‘going to be special’ and Michael Kopech ‘has to become a pitcher’  —  Photos of the White Sox outfielder and No. 4-ranked prosepct by Baseball America.  —  Chicago Tribune  —  Steve Stone got promoted to the big leagues in 1971 …

Rangers recall Matt Bush from Round Rock, designate Kevin Jepsen for assignment  —  Matt Bush is back.  —  The Rangers on Monday recalled the right-handed relief pitcher from Triple-A Round Rock and designated right-handed reliever Kevin Jepsen for assignment.