METS CUT BOBBY ABREU

THE END MIGHT finally have arrived for Bobby Abreu at the age of 40.

The New York Mets have cut the slumping Abreu and are calling up outfielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis from the minors.

The Mets designated Abreu for assignment after yesterday's 4-3 loss to San Francisco. His final appearance came in the sixth inning when he was sent up as a pinch-hitter, then pulled after the Giants made a pitching change.

Abreu had been out of the majors since 2012 when the Mets promoted him from Triple A on April 21. He had been with the Phillies in spring training. He provided a lefthanded bat and good patience at the plate as a pinch-hitter, occasional outfielder and designated hitter for games at American League stadiums.

Abreu started well, but quickly dropped off. He was hitless in his last 22 at-bats as a pinch-hitter. He hit .238 with one home run and 14 RBI in 142 plate appearances, and finished up 0-for-13.

Overall, Abreu has hit .291 with 288 homers in 18 seasons with Houston, the Phillies, Yankees, Angels, Dodgers and Mets.

"It was a big step to be out for one year and come back this year," Abreu said. "The feeling right now, it's not going to put me down. I'm going to stay with my head up."

Abreu said he will play winter ball back home in Venezuela and perhaps look to become a hitting coach in the future.

"I'd like to see if I can pass all the stuff I know to these guys," he said.

The Giants took three of four at Citi Field, the Mets' first loss of a home series since June 10-12 against Milwaukee. Pablo Sandoval drove in three runs and got three hits, including an RBI double with two outs in the ninth inning, to win it for the Giants.

* At Washington, Caleb Joseph homered and drove in three runs, J.J. Hardy had four hits and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Nationals, 7-3, in a duel between neighboring first-place teams.

Washington's lead over Atlanta in the NL East slipped to three games and Baltimore increased its margin over Toronto to four games in the AL East.

* At Cleveland, Corey Kluber (12-6) held Cincinnati to one run in 7 1/3 innings to win his fifth straight decision and lead the Indians to a 7-1 victory over the Reds. Lonnie Chisenhall hit a three-run homer in the fourth off Alfredo Simon (12-7) and Yan Gomes hit a two-run homer in the eighth as Cleveland won its fourth straight.

* At New York, Brandon McCarthy (4-0) won his fourth straight start with a gritty effort, and the Yankees beat Max Scherzer (13-4) and the Detroit Tigers, 2-1.

Brian McCann had an RBI single and Jacoby Ellsbury a sacrifice fly in the third.

* Pittsburgh is expected to place All-Star centerfielder Andrew McCutchen on the 15-day disabled list with an oblique muscle injury. He was injured Sunday swinging at a pitch and hitting a sacrifice fly.

* Giants pitcher Matt Cain will have season-ending surgery next week to remove bone chips in his right elbow. Cain, 29, hasn't pitched since July 9. The three-time All-Star played catch at Citi Field on Friday to test out how he was feeling. Cain was 2-7 with a 4.18 ERA in 15 starts.

* Masahiro Tanaka took a small step toward returning to the New York Yankees' rotation, playing a pain-free game of catch. Tanaka made 25 throws from 60 feet yesterday, his first action since being sidelined in early July with a small tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.

The rookie sensation from Japan was 12-4 with a 2.51 ERA before landing on the disabled list. He is trying to avoid Tommy John surgery, which would sideline the 25-year-old All-Star for at least a year.

"I think it all went well," Tanaka said through a translator. "I think I get to the next step, so I'm very relieved about that."

Manager Joe Girardi cautions that this is a slow start in a long process, but was encouraged the throwing in the outfield went well.

Tanaka will play catch again today and will increase the intensity as he goes along. Girardi said the real test will come when Tanaka gets on a mound and faces competition.

Michael Pineda, another sidelined Yankees starter, appears much closer to a return from a right shoulder muscle injury. The righthander threw 58 pitches in 3 1/3 innings for Triple A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Sunday.

Fill-in starter David Phelps was placed on the 15-day disabled list yesterday because of right elbow inflammation. The Yankees recalled Matt Daley from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to fill Phelps' spot on the roster.

* The Rangers added outfielder-first baseman Mike Carp to their 25-man roster, the day after they claimed him on waivers from Boston. Catcher Chris Gimenez was placed on the paternity list, where he can be up to 3 days.

* Washington placed outfielder Nate McLouth on the 15-day disabled list with inflammation in his right shoulder. The Nationals filled the roster spot by recalling outfielder Steven Souza Jr. from Triple A Syracuse, where he leads the International League with a .354 batting average.