Rookie helps Mariners rebound, earn split with Padres

Seattle rookie Jose Marmolejos had a pretty good day for someone who didn’t know he was on the roster until three hours before the first pitch of Thursday’s doubleheader.

Marmolejos hit his first grand slam and Shed Long Jr. also connected in the six-run first inning that carried the Mariners to an 8-3 victory against the Padres and a doubleheader split in San Diego.

Marmolejos also had a big defensive play at first base and had two home runs for the day.

“When we needed a big hit, Marmo got us going with a grand slam in the first inning,” manager Scott Servais said. “It was great to see from a guy who, when he woke up this morning, had no idea he’d be on the active roster, and he ended up hitting two home runs for us.”

In the first game, San Diego’s Wil Myers hit a game-ending three-run homer to cap a seven-run rally with two outs in the seventh inning to stun the Mariners 10-7. Manny Machado had two homers among his three hits and drove in four runs.

The Mariners jumped all over Garrett Richards in the first inning of the second game. Marmolejos, added as the 29th player for the doubleheader, hit his grand slam with one out and Long connected with two outs to give Seattle a 6-0 lead and chase Richards.

“I wasn’t thinking about a grand slam, I was just thinking about solid contact,” Marmolejos said. He knew it was gone “as soon as I hit it. Sometimes you know that feeling. I was grateful.”

Pirates beat Cardinals twice: Erik Gonzalez and Adam Frazier singled in runs, rookie Cody Ponce earned his first big-league victory and Pittsburgh beat host St. Louis 2-0 for a doubleheader sweep. Cole Tucker drove in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning in the Pirates’ 4-3 win in the opener. Ponce (1-1) made his first major-league start and went 5 ⅔ innings, holding the Cardinals scoreless and scattering five hits. Nick Turley pitched the seventh to record his first save in the majors.

Reds beat Brewers twice: Eugenio Suarez homered and Wade Miley and two relievers combined to hold host Milwaukee to one hit as Cincinnati won 6-0 to sweep a doubleheader. Miley allowed Luis Urias’ third-inning single, but Miley, Lucas Sims and Raisel Iglesias shut down the Brewers from there. The Reds won the first game 6-1 as Jesse Winker homered twice and Sonny Gray (5-1) allowed four singles over five scoreless innings.

Postponed: The Red Sox-Blue Jays, Phillies-Nationals, Orioles-Rays, Marlins-Mets, Rockies-Diamondbacks and Twins-Tigers games were postponed as part of a protest against racial injustice in the wake of Sunday’s shooting of Jacob Blake by police in Kenosha, Wis.

Briefly: The Blue Jays made a move aimed at bolstering their rotation, acquiring right-hander Taijuan Walker from the Mariners for a player or cash. Walker is 2-2 with a 4.00 ERA in five starts this season, with 25 strikeouts and eight walks. He is 33-33 with a 3.95 ERA in parts of eight big league seasons. ... The Rays acquired outfielder Brett Phillips from the Royals for shortstop Lucius Fox, a former Giants prospect who was dealt to Tampa Bay in 2016 as part of a deal for left-hander Matt Moore. ... Players placed on the injured list included Dodgers pitcher Walker Buehler (blister), St. Loui s reliever Andrew Miller (shoulder) and Pittsburgh reliever Keone Kela (forearm tightness) and third baseman Colin Moran (concussion).