Cincinnati Reds did not lose to a Pirates club using an emergency catcher to fall to 3-23!

The Cincinnati Reds rode a ginormous game from catcher and future MVP Tyler Stephenson to a victory in the first of two games they’ll play this Saturday. Connor Overton toed the rubber in good form, too, and a late flurry of runs yielded a 9-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates for the good guys on this Derby Day.

A trio of errors by the Pirates aided the Reds cause on the day, as did an untimely ejection of backup catcher Andrew Knapp followed by an injury to starting catcher Roberto Perez, a scenario that evolved into former Red (and decidedly non-catcher) Josh VanMeter getting some time behind the dish for the first time in his professional career.

Still, it was the depleted lineup that deserves the dap today with Ty Steves leading the way. He doubled twice in his 3-hit day, drove in 4, and was backed by a trio of ribbies by Tyler Naquin, too. Ribbies! Ribbies! Ribbies!

All told, it was a 9-run outburst that marked the first time all season the Reds scored more than 6 runs in a game.

They’ll run it back later this evening, too, if more baseball is your thing.