Tyler Stephenson broke an eighth-inning tie with a two-run double and drove in four to help the Cincinnati Reds snap a nine-game losing streak with a 9-2 win over the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates Saturday in the first game of a day-night doubleheader.

Stephenson finished 3-for-4 with two doubles while Lucas Sims (1-0) pitched out of his own bases-loaded, none-out jam in the eighth to record just the second win in 23 games for the Reds.

Tyler Naquin’s three-run double highlighted the seven-run uprising in the eighth for Cincinnati’s biggest inning of the season. The nine runs marked a season high for the Reds, while the Pirates lost for the seventh time in nine games.

The Reds jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first against Pirates starter JT Brubaker, who received the no-decision. He struck out nine, walked two and allowed two runs on three hits in his five innings.

The Pirates began their comeback against Connor Overton in the third on Ben Gamel’s two-out RBI double and then tied it in the sixth when Ke’Bryan Hayes singled home Gamel.

As was the case in Colorado in his last start, Overton was effective in his first five innings before tiring in the sixth. Overton allowed two runs on six hits in his 5 1/3 innings, striking out four and walking none.

The game took a peculiar turn in the bottom of the sixth when backup catcher Andrew Knapp was ejected from the game by home plate umpire Will Little for arguing balls and strikes from the dugout.

That ejection became problematic to the Pirates when starting catcher Roberto Perez injured his left hamstring rounding second base on Gamel’s single in the eighth inning. Perez had to be helped off the field and into the clubhouse for evaluation.

Second baseman Josh VanMeter was forced into emergency duty behind the plate, catching for the first time in his MLB career.

The Pirates loaded the bases in the eighth with none out against Sims. The Reds right-handed reliever recovered by striking out the heart of the order — Hayes, Daniel Vogelbach and Michael Chavis — in succession to escape the jam.

In the bottom of the eighth, the Reds also loaded the bases with none out against reliever Wil Crowe (1-2). But the Reds made the most of their chance when Stephenson drove a ball down the right field line that Gamel appeared to misplay into a two-run go-ahead double.

–Field Level Media

Saturday’s game in Philadelphia between the Phillies and New York Mets was postponed because of rain.

The two National League East rivals now will play a single-admission doubleheader on Sunday at Citizens Bank Park beginning at 12:35 p.m. ET.

This is the second game of a four-game series washed out by weather. Friday night’s game also was rained out and rescheduled as part of a split-admission doubleheader on Aug. 20.

The Mets won the opener of the series on Thursday, 8-7, after scoring seven runs in the top of the ninth inning to wipe out a 7-1 deficit.

–Field Level Media

The slumping Seattle Mariners plan to call up right-hander George Kirby, their top pitching prospect, ESPN reported Saturday.

Kirby, 24, was scratched from his planned start for Double-A Arkansas on Saturday.

In five starts in the Texas League this season, Kirby is 2-0 with a 1.82 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 24 2/3 innings.

He was the No. 20 overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft from Elon. MLB.com ranks the Rye, N.Y., native as the No. 30 prospect in baseball.

The Mariners have lost nine of their past 10 games after an 11-6 start to the season. Their pitching staff has a 3.68 ERA, ranking 17th in the majors.

–Field Level Media

Chicago Cubs shortstop Andrelton Simmons began a rehab assignment Saturday at Triple-A Iowa.

The four-time Gold Glove winner opened the season on the 10-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation.

He will play shortstop for Iowa on Saturday and is expected to be the designated hitter on Sunday. The team is off Monday.

Simmons, 32, signed a one-year, $4 million deal with the Cubs in free agency on March 15.

A lifetime .265 hitter with 70 homers and 437 RBIs, Simmons has played 1,191 games with the Atlanta Braves (2012-15), Los Angeles Angels (2016-20) and Minnesota Twins (2021).

–Field Level Media

The Seattle Mariners placed Tom Murphy on the 10-day injured list Saturday with a dislocated left shoulder and recalled fellow catcher Cal Raleigh from Triple-A Tacoma.

Murphy departed with two outs in the fifth inning of Friday night’s 8-7 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays after attempting to tag out Randy Arozarena on a play at the plate. He was replaced by Luis Torrens.

Murphy, 31, is batting .303 with a .439 on-base percentage in 14 games this season.

He is a career .235 hitter with 40 homers and 109 RBIs in 267 games with the Colorado Rockies (2015-18) and Seattle.

Raleigh, 25, was optioned to Tacoma on April 28 after batting .083 (2 for 24) with a homer and an RBI in nine games with the Mariners.

–Field Level Media

The Philadelphia Phillies placed shortstop Didi Gregorius on the 10-day injured list Saturday with a left knee sprain.

The designation is retroactive to Thursday. Infielder Bryson Stott was recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to take his place on the roster.

Gregorius, 32, is batting .288 with four doubles and seven RBIs in 18 games in his third season with the Phillies. He is a career .260 hitter with 133 homers and 518 RBIs in 1,032 games with four teams.

Stott, 24, made his major league debut in the April 8 season opener and batted .133 (4 for 30) with three RBIs and 10 strikeouts in nine games. He hit .333 with two homers and seven RBIs in nine games at Lehigh Valley.

–Field Level Media

The Boston Red Sox activated infielder/outfielder Enrique Hernandez from the COVID injured list on Saturday.

In a corresponding move, outfielder Jarren Duran was optioned to Triple-A Worcester.

Hernandez, 30, is batting .189 with one home run, 12 RBIs and 12 runs scored in 24 games this season.

Duran, 25, had a triple and scored a run in four at-bats in Friday night’s loss to the Chicago White Sox, his season debut.

Left-handed pitcher Rich Hill remains on the COVID injured list for Boston.

–Field Level Media

The Toronto Blue Jays activated outfielder Teoscar Hernandez from the 10-day injured list on Saturday.

He will serve as the 27th man on the roster for Saturday’s doubleheader against the Guardians in Cleveland.

Hernandez, 29, landed on the IL on April 14 with a left oblique strain.

He is batting .316 with one home run and three RBIs in six games with Toronto this season.

During a three-game rehab stint at Class-A Dunedin, he hit .455 (5 for 11) with two homers and four RBIs

Hernandez is coming off an All-Star season in 2021 when he batted .296 with 32 homers and 116 RBIs.

–Field Level Media

The visiting Texas Rangers and New York Yankees were rained out for the second straight day on Saturday.

The game will be made up Monday afternoon at 1:05 p.m. ET.

Friday’s scheduled series opener was one of six postponements in baseball, the most in one day since April 15, 2018.

That game will be made up in a single-admission doubleheader Sunday at Yankee Stadium, starting at 1:35 p.m. ET.

Both teams have been off since Wednesday.

The Yankees won 11 straight before a 2-1 loss in Toronto on Wednesday. Texas is on a four-game winning streak following a two-game sweep in Philadelphia.

–Field Level Media

The Tampa Bay Rays, winners of five straight to start a 10-game West Coast road swing, will look to clinch a four-game series Saturday night when they face the Seattle Mariners in the third matchup between the teams.

Manager Kevin Cash will call on 26-year-old Drew Rasmussen (2-1, 3.13 ERA), who joined the Rays on May 21, 2021, when he and fellow reliever J.P. Feyereisen were acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers for shortstop Willy Adames and pitcher Trevor Richards.

Rasmussen and Feyereisen — also having a breakout season with a 2-0 record and a 0.00 ERA in 13 innings — contributed greatly to Tampa Bay’s second consecutive American League East-winning campaign.

The right-handed Rasmussen went 4-0 with a 2.44 ERA in 20 appearances, with half starts and half relief outings after the trade last season.

Cash kept the native of Puyallup, Wash. — less than an hour south of Seattle — in the starter’s role entering 2022, a spot Rasmussen has excelled in.

Over five starts thus far, the Oregon State alum has been strong, giving up 15 hits in 23 innings, and his pitch count has built up to at least 79 in his past three appearances.

In two career outings (one start) against the Mariners, Rasmussen is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA over 7 2/3 innings. He’s allowed two hits, walked one and struck out 13.

That lone start was April 27 as the Rays beat Seattle 3-2 in Tampa. In six innings, he yielded two hits, no runs and struck out nine against one walk.

“He’s itching to find a way to get deeper into ballgames,” Cash said. “Last year at the end of the year, he was incredibly efficient. The amount of (swing and) miss he created was a highlight for him.”

The Mariners and manager Scott Servais were frustrated by Friday’s stunning 8-7 loss, bringing their skid to five games.

The home club received a big night from Eugenio Suarez, who hit two homers and drove in three runs.

Slumping Jarred Kelenic, hitting just .127, provided a pinch-hit two-run homer in the eighth for a 6-5 lead to seemingly leave Seattle in good position with Paul Sewald coming in to close out a win.

However, Sewald — who had not allowed a baserunner in six appearances spanning six innings — allowed two singles followed by a three-run homer to pinch-hitter Manuel Margot, ultimately enough to send the Mariners to defeat again.

“A lot of really good things in that game tonight, but we’re disappointed it didn’t go our way at the end,” said Servais, whose club is 3-5 in one-run games. “I thought it was one of our better games offensively, probably since our last homestand.”

In the fifth inning, Seattle lost catcher Tom Murphy (dislocated shoulder) on an awkward catch-and-tag play at the plate.

On Saturday, Seattle’s Marco Gonzales (1-3, 4.05) will make his sixth start this season and has made that many against Tampa Bay in his career.

The left-hander is 3-1 with a 3.09 ERA against the Rays, with the opposition hitting .237 against him.

He started against the Rays and Rasmussen on April 27 but left the game after being struck on the left wrist by a 109 mph drive by Harold Ramirez just 11 pitches in.

–Field Level Media