PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – As much as Henry Davis says he’s heard the chatter from the outside about the team scoring under five runs in 26 straight games, he also has to have heard the criticism of himself. A first overall pick batting under .200 and a back-up. But to his credit, what he’s done is just go to work.
Wednesday afternoon a little of that work paid off at the plate and behind it.
Davis had a pair of singles, one scored a run, threw out a baserunner in the seventh and pulled off a little slight of hand at the plate to tag out Cincinnati’s Spencer Steer in the sixth inning with what would have been the tying run at the time.
"Unbelievable,” said Pirates manager Don Kelly. “What a game he had (Wednesday). Talking the hits, the walk, the deke at home plate, throwing the guy out stealing. Just phenomenal game by Henry, it was awesome."
Let’s start with the defense, which has improved dramatically over the last two years and the Pirates said he had become a good defensive catcher. He’s the guy that Paul Skenes wants when he pitches, which probably says something.
The play at the plate was big, keeping the Bucs in front 2-1.
"I knew it was going to be a close play, and anytime you can get a half step or get the runner to pull up, you've got a better chance to get him out," Davis said.
Then there what was described by Kelly as the ‘cannon throw’ to second in the seventh to get Will Benson trying to steal for the final out.
Offense
It is what he did with the bat at Louisville that had the Bucs excited about Davis when they drafted him first overall in 2021. He hasn’t provided a lot. His RBI Wednesday was just his fourth on the season. But it has improved, he has hits in three straight games and his average has bumped up 65 points.
"Honestly, just trying to take as many swings as I can to stay as consistently in game shape as I can,” Davis said, a notorious hard worker. “This is the first time in my career I haven't played consistently. Just making sure I'm ready to go whenever I get up there and I don't feel like I have to take a pitch to get on time.”
At 25, he said he’s still understanding his role. Along with always being a starter in his career, he’s never hit ninth in a lineup. There is nuance as to how to approach at bats in the nine-spot.
The catcher said as a whole the starting pitching has put the team on their shoulders. He’s looking to be a part of the offensive solution.
"I think we've just got to keep going, really,” Davis said. “Obviously you see some swings today that could have resulted in a higher score and they didn't. That's alright. Obviously, we got the win, and that's a testament to the pitching staff really carrying us right now. We've got to keep going as an offense and continue to work so we can break through this wall."
It's a small sample size, but maybe Davis is breaking through his own wall. Mentally he seems to understand his situation with the other catcher, Joey Bart, being one of the most consistent hitters on the team. He’s figuring out how to approach it and how to optimize his work so it’s not just hard, but smart.
There is a bigger role for Henry Davis, if he can continue to earn it.