PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – It’s been a struggle this season at the plate for Henry Davis, but a second home in three games for the 2021 first round pick gave the Pirates (28-26) the lead in the seventh inning and a 2-1 win over the Cubs (29-25) Monday afternoon at PNC Park. It marks a ninth straight loss for Chicago.
Cubs had come back to tie the game with a home run in the fifth before Davis pounded a 91 mph, Trent Thornton cutter 413 feet to left field for a solo homer, his fourth of the season.
"Hit it, squared it up, pretty pumped," Davis said.
“Great to see him be rewarded in a huge moment, to hit that home run there," said Pirates manager Don Kelly. "He’s worked extremely hard to get his swing to a much better place. Unfortunately, he hasn’t had the success in results but the approach, the process has been so good. It’s really great to see him have a moment like that in such a big situation.”
“It was cool, huge homer, won us the game," said starter Carmen Mlodzinski. "He’s somebody that works his ass off. He’s here early every day. To see him get rewarded is a good feeling, for sure.”
Davis has two hits in his last 23 at bats, both are home runs.
Carmen start
A lot of speculation as to where Jared Jones would fit in the Pirates rotation, if indeed he is activated this week and returned to being a starter. Bucs management has been noncommittal, but if he takes Carmen Mlodzinski’s spot, the right-hander goes out with a no-decision.
“I thought it was good," Mlodzinski said. "To be able to get through five with one (run), I thought was a good day. It kept us in the ballgame. I feel like you take away that pitch to Busch, you still have a chance to win the game. Not upset with going five with one for sure.”
“To go five innings, one run, he threw the ball great," Kelly said. "The home run was earned to center field. He got all of that to get it out that far. I thought Carmen did a great job in giving us a chance to win, which is exactly what our starting pitcher hopes to do when they go out.”
Mlodzinski gave up only a solo home run in six innings to go with four hits, three walks and two strikeouts against the Cubs in the first game of the series. The outing Monday lowered the 27-year-old right-hander’s ERA to 3.76 in his 11th appearance.
Dotel solid
Rookie right-hander Wilbur Dotel threw three scoreless innings allowing only one hit and striking out four for his first career MLB win. Dotel’s ERA is now 1.69.
“It’s awesome," Kelly said. "Three innings out of the ‘pen in that situation in such a close game. Mixed, changed speeds, threw strikes. He was tremendous.”
“That was great," Mlodzinski said. "I feel like he went right after guys. It was a 1-1 game and it looked like we were winning 10-0 which is a compliment to his composure on the mound, which is super-important in a game that is close. For somebody who is a rookie to be able to do that, it says a lot about the player he is probably going to grow into."
Ejected
For the second time in three games, Pirates manager Don Kelly was ejected. It came after a pitch high-and-tight came close to hitting shortstop Konnor Griffin on the visor of the helmet. It was ruled that it didn’t hit him, but the Pirates challenged. It appeared that maybe the ball changed direction slightly, therefore clipping the visor, but the replay upheld the original call. Kelly was ejected for arguing the call by third base umpire Dan Bellino.
Notes
- Brandon Lowe doubled in Spencer Horwitz with the other Pirates run in the third inning. Now with 33 RBIs, he is one shy of Oneil Cruz for the team lead.
- Cruz, Lowe and Spencer Horwitz each had two hits
- Gregory Soto earned a save in back-to-back games, six on the season with a one-two-three ninth inning.
Up Next
Second game of the series Tuesday with RHP Braxton Ashcraft (3-2, 2.89 ERA) starting against a yet to be named pitcher for the Cubs. Dan Zangrilli has the North Shore Tavern Leadoff Show at 5:45p with first pitch at 6:40 on 93.7 The Fan.
“Braxton in particular has done a fantastic job of being efficient, getting ahead and taking on the challenge of strike one and the race to two strikes, getting two of the first three,” Kelly said. “He's done an awesome job with that and I think as he continues to earn that, as all these guys continue to earn it, they have, going back to last year. When we talked about them being in the pen, Braxton filled so many different roles, starting games, closing games, pitching bulk in the middle, just dominating the innings that they've been out on the mound and he's continued to show that throughout this year."
Pirates take the 1st of a 4-game series against the Cubs
Pirates take the 1st of a 4-game series against the Cubs
