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Sam Moll hasn’t really been a problem for the 2026 version of the Cincinnati Reds. He certainly hasn’t been the problem, that’s for damn sure.

On Saturday afternoon in Busch Stadium, though, it was the big hit coming off a Moll pitch that flipped the scoreboard in the Bottom of the 8th inning and, ultimately, sent the reeling Reds to a 6-5 loss that gave the series victory to the St. Louis Cardinals.

Even after the homer by lefty Lars Nootbaar off Moll, a lefty, Moll still sports a 2.96 ERA on the season. Again, he’s not the problem – but perhaps the attrition around him in the bullpen and the once again lack of a starter capable of pitching deep enough into the game to take the pressure off the beleaguered pen reared its head, and it was Moll left holding the bag.

Nick Lodolo was meh again, allowing 4 ER in 5.0 IP and needing 95 pitches just to get that far. The patchwork elbow of Tejay Antone held together things in the patchwork bullpen for a time, but then the 8th inning happened and the Reds couldn’t find a way for a miracle.

Speaking of miracles, that miracle April run to start the season? It’s officially poof. This loss sends the Reds back under the .500 mark at 31-32, and given what we’ve seen from them as their best and brightest fall by the wayside, I fear it’s simply more of the norm unless the front office can figure a way out of this jam of mediocrity.

Do you have confidence in them to get that done?

SAN DIEGO — Jorge Polanco’s imminent return to the Mets may not be so imminent.

The veteran infielder was removed from his minor league rehab assignment Saturday due to ankle soreness, according to the team, and he will return to New York for further evaluation.

Polanco previously was scheduled to play for Triple-A Syracuse.

The Mets had originally hoped he would rejoin the club on this road trip, but manager Carlos Mendoza indicated Friday that Polanco needed to build up at-bats and innings at first base for Syracuse.

Polanco, who arrived on a two-year contract worth $40 million, was placed on the injured list with a right wrist contusion April 15 but at the time was also dealing with left Achilles bursitis.

In recent weeks Mendoza said Polanco would likely have to play through some level of discomfort in the ankle this season.

Kodai Senga is built up enough to rejoin the Mets, but the team wants to see results before removing him from his minor league rehab assignment.

The right-hander struggled through his last outing, allowing six hits and two walks with three earned runs over five innings in his start for Triple-A Syracuse on Wednesday. Senga owns a 5.19 ERA in three minor league starts as he rehabs from lumbar spine inflammation.

Senga’s next start is scheduled for Double-A Binghamton on Tuesday.

“Some inconsistency with strike throwing,” Mendoza said before the Mets faced the Padres on Saturday. “Physically he feels fine, which is good, but obviously we need to see some results here now.”

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Mendoza noted that Senga’s velocity was down in his last outing, but overall it hasn’t been an issue.

“He’s got to be able to compete in the strike zone,” Mendoza said. “I have been saying it about a lot of our guys, so I think it’s just attacking and dominating [minor league] lineups.”

Sean Manaea was sharp in a bulk relief role Monday and is expected to again follow an opener for his Sunday appearance against the Padres to complete this road trip.

The lefty allowed one earned run over five innings against the Mariners and has pitched to a 2.70 ERA over his past five appearances.

Francisco Alvarez was scheduled to catch back-to-back games for Syracuse on Saturday and Sunday, placing him in position for a return from the injured list during the next Mets homestand.

Alvarez is returning from surgery to repair a meniscus tear.

Mendoza recorded his 200th career victory as Mets manager Friday. Mendoza, in his third season, is No. 10 on the franchise’s all-time list for managerial victories behind Jerry Manuel (204).

Terry Collins was the last Mets manager to reach 200 victories.

A.J. Ewing stole two bases Friday for the first multi-steal game of his career.

Ewing began the day with seven stolen bases.

Mookie Wilson owns the Mets rookie record for stolen bases with 24.

Lee Mazzilli (22) and Gregg Jefferies (21) are next on the list.

Jorge Polanco was not in the lineup for Triple-A Syracuse on Saturday after experiencing ankle soreness, the team announced, and his rehab assignment has been shut down by the Mets.

Polanco will now head back to New York for further re-evaluation on his ankle after dealing with Achilles bursitis that has been nagging him all season.

Earlier in the week, manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters that Polanco "could be in play" to return to the team when it began a three-game series in San Diego this weekend. However, on Friday, before the series opener, Polanco remained in Triple-A as the skipper said he needed more volume both in terms of his at-bats and defense.

In six games between Double-A and Triple-A, Polanco went 2-for-12 with a home run and five walks. 

Despite the results, it looked like Polanco was at least trending in the right direction to rejoin the Mets, but now his future is completely up in the air.

Will Smith was scratched on Saturday with a stiff neck, but manager Dave Roberts said he expected him to be back in the lineup the next day for the finale of the Dodgers’ three-game series against the Angels.

“It came out of nowhere,” Roberts said. “Could have probably pushed him to play, but he was going to play one of the next two regardless.”

Smith missed time in late April with lower back problems and played only one of the Dodgers’ three games in Milwaukee a couple of weeks ago, but Roberts said he didn’t think Smith was any more worn down than he was in previous seasons.

A three-time All-Star, Smith is batting .249 this season.

Smith was replaced on Saturday by Dalton Rushing, whom Roberts described as being much better prepared to deal with a last-minute start than he was last year.

“It’s not even close,” Roberts said. “Dalton’s in the pitchers’ meetings. He and Will have a really good relationship, which I love.

“I’ll tell you, man, Dalton, when he’s catching, I feel very good that he’s in lockstep with the starting pitcher.”

In other injury news, third baseman Max Muncy returned to the lineup after sitting out a game to recover from a violent collision at first base with Ildelmo Vargas.

Also, Tyler Glasnow was moved to the 60-day injured list to create a place on the 40-man roster for triple-A right-hander Nick Frasso. Glasnow was placed on the 15-day injured list on May 8 with lower back spasms. He currently isn’t throwing.

Mets lineup

Carson Benge – RF
Bo Bichette – SS
Juan Soto – LF
Jared Young – 1B
Marcus Semien – 2B
A.J. Ewing – CF
Mark Vientos – DH
Brett Baty – 3B
Luis Torrens – C

SP: Nolan McLean – RHP

Padres lineup

Fernando Tatis – RF
Jackson Merrill – CF
Ty France – 1B
Manny Machado – 3B
Gavin Sheets – LF
Xander Bogaerts – SS
Miguel Andujar – DH
Sung-Mun Song – 2B
Freddy Fermin – C

SP: Griffin Canning – RHP

Broadcast info

First pitch: 10:10 PM ET
TV: SNY
Radio: Audacy Mets Radio WHSQ 880AM, Audacy App, 92.3 HD2

New York Mets (28-35) at San Diego Padres (32-30), June 6, 2026, 7:10 p.m. PST

Watch: Padres.TV

Location: Petco Park – San Diego, Calif.

Listen: 97.3 The Fan

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Ahead of the Mets’ game in San Diego against the Padres on Saturday night, manager Carlos Mendoza hit on a number of topics… 

What’s next for Kodai Senga

The starter will make his next rehab start likely on Tuesday with Double-A Binghamton, Mendoza said.

This would be Senga's fourth minor league rehab outing since he began ramping up in the minors in late May. The outings haven't been going so well, in two starts with Triple-A Syracuse, the right-hander allowed six runs (five earned) on 10 hits and four walks with 10 strikeouts in 8.2 innings.

The skipper classified the reports on Senga as being “on and off.”

“I watched the last couple of outings, some inconsistency with strike throwing,” Mendoza said. “Physically, he feels fine, which is good, but obviously, we need to see some results here now.”

Mendoza said the issue that has been keeping Senga from finding consistent good form has been throwing strikes.

“He’s gotta be able to compete in the strike zone,” he said. “I’ve been saying it with a lot of our guys. I think it’s just him attacking and dominating Triple-A lineups.”

Mendoza noted that Senga’s velocity was “a little down” In his last outing with Syracuse, but “for the most part, it has been mid-90s.”

“The first two outings of the year were pretty nasty," Mendoza said of Senga’s first starts with the Mets. "The velo was up, he was competing in the strike zone. But then he kinda got away from it. It is kinda what we’re looking at. Hopefully, we get that version back.”

Mark Vientos’ role moving forward

In 2024, Vientos looked to have put it all together at the plate, smacking 27 home runs with 71 RBI in 111 games with a .837 OPS (134 OPS+). Over the 175 games since, Vientos has posted 24 home runs and 87 RBI with a .680 OPS (90 OPS+), which includes the first 54 games of this season that have seen him post a .218 average with a .630 OPS (77 OPS+).

"He's got to compete for at-bats,” Mendoza said when asked to assess Vientos’ role moving forward. 

The 26-year-old has seen his playing time decrease recently, and he entered Saturday's game 6-for-42 (.143) in his last 13 games with 12 strikeouts and no walks.

“We've got a healthy competition here,” he said. “Jared Young is playing well, [MJ] Melendez, [too]. We're going to need him. Obviously, it's been hard for him the past few weeks, but this is a guy that can carry a team.

“We’re gonna need him, he’s got another opportunity [Saturday], and we’ll continue to assess day by day.”

Carson Benge's big-league personality

“Impressive,” Mendoza said of the rookie’s play over his first 60 games since his big league debut on Opening Day.

“The biggest thing for me,” the manager continued, “he’s not gonna show you emotions. This is a guy that is just new to the league and you can’t really tell if he’s 0-for-12 or if he’s seven for his last 10 at-bats.

“His ability to play defense, his ability to run the bases, continues to put together really good at-bats, left-on-left. He’s been impressive and it’s just good to see.”

One thing that has helped Benge is knowing he will be in the lineup each day which is something that can be a boost for players making the transition to the big league level, but it doesn’t come without costs, too. 

“That always helps. Knowing that you’re gonna be in the lineup,” Mendoza said, adding that Benge has “a good group of veterans there that are continuing to help him get through some of the struggles at the beginning.”

“It’s a grind. It’s every day. In the minor leagues, you get that one day off every five, six days,” the manager continued. “That doesn’t happen here at this level. But he’s super consistent with his personality, with the way he goes about his business. It’s just good to see it.”

The Dodgers finish off their shortest homestand of the year with their third and final game of the weekend against the Angels at Dodger Stadium.

Emmet Sheehan closes out his two-start week by starting in the series finale, after lasting at least six innings in three of his last four starts. José Soriano starts for the Angels, bringing a 2.72 ERA and 4.09 xERA into the series finale. Soriano also leads the majors with 38 walks in his 76 innings, including six free passes in a blowout loss to the Dodgers on May 16 in Anaheim.

Something to watch will be whether catcher Will Smith will be back in the lineup after getting scratched on Saturday with a stiff neck.

Sunday game info

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Angels
• Ballpark: Dodger Stadium
• Time: 1:10 p.m.
• TV: SportsNet LA, KCOP channel 13 (Angels broadcast)
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

A seemingly minor delay turned into a postponement on Saturday night, as the Yankees and Red Sox won’t be taking the field. They have instead rescheduled this game for August 29th—another Saturday—in which these two clubs will play a doubleheader with the first game taking place at 1:05 p.m. According to a press release from the Yankees, everyone who bought a ticket for tonight’s game will be entitled to watch the first one of that doubleheader in late August, the makeup game so to speak.

With Sunday’s game moving forward in the same time slot at 1:35 p.m., instead of pushing everyone back a day, the Yankees will not interrupt Cam Schllitler’s schedule and have him take the mound. Will Warren, who was set to pitch tonight, will move back to the series opener against the Guardians on the road on Monday, facing standout Cleveland starter Gavin Williams. It’s worth noting that pitching on the road has been a rather productive activity for Warren, who has a 2.25 ERA in five starts on the road this season.

There’s no word yet on whether the Yankees will stick with Ali Sánchez at catcher for his team debut with Austin Wells hitting the IL, or if the gone-but-quickly-returned J.C. Escarra will go behind the plate instead. The Red Sox will seemingly stick with their Saturday starter, lefty Ranger Suárez, on Sunday, so the righty Sánchez would seem to be the logical choice.

Enjoy your evenings and we’ll see you tomorow.

After last night’s crazy game, the Brewers are back in action for the second game of their series against the Rockies. Jacob Misiorowski is on the mound for his first start in Colorado.

Prior to today’s game, the Brewers made a roster move to bolster their hurting bullpen. After leaving the game early yesterday, Brian Fitzpatrick was placed on the 15-day IL with a left elbow injury. According to Pat Murphy, Fitzpatrick’s MRI showed a UCL strain. He will seek a second opinion before deciding between rehab and surgery. To fill his spot on the active roster, Drew Rom’s contract was selected from Triple-A Nashville. The Brewers had an open 40-man roster spot following Jake Woodford’s DFA.

The Brewers also made one additional move today. They acquired RHP Joel Kuhnel from the Athletics in exchange for cash. Kuhnel was designated for assignment earlier this week following a loss to the Cubs where he allowed four runs in 2/3 of an inning. Overall this season, Kuhnel has a 4.21 ERA and 3.97 FIP with a 4.9 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9. This is Kuhnel’s second time with the Brewers. He signed as a free agent in June 2024 and was on the active roster twice, but did not appear in a game.

Misiorowski will make his first spot in the high elevation of Colorado this afternoon. He is coming off of an amazing month of May where he allowed just one run over six starts. He held batters to a .109/.154/.116 batting line and struck out 57 while walking just six. For the Rockies, Zach Agnos will make the start. He’s had a rough season, posting a 7.78 ERA and 5.08 FIP over 37 innings. This is just his second start of the season, though he has served as long relief out of the bullpen. In his one other start, he pitched five innings and threw 71 pitches. His ERA is elevated after two relief appearances where he allowed seven runs in each. This is his first career appearance against the Brewers.

The Brewers could use a long start from Misiorowski today. Trevor Megill, Aaron Ashby, and Craig Yoho all pitched yesterday. Yoho is likely not available at all after pitching two innings, while Megill and Ashby could be available. Chad Patrick threw 49 pitches on Wednesday, but with Shane Drohan pitching tomorrow, manager Pat Murphy will likely want to keep him to pitch multiple innings tomorrow. Abner Uribe and Rom are the two rested arms, assuming Grant Anderson is still day-to-day.

The lineup is mostly the same from yesterday. Andrew Vaughn and Joey Ortiz get starts, while Garrett Mitchell and Luis Rengifo get the day off. The top five remain unchanged despite the top four having rough days yesterday.

First pitch is set for 8:10 p.m. It will be on Brewers.TV and is free if you’re in the Brewers broadcast area. It will also be on the Brewers Radio Network.