Pirates' Henry Davis Hits Home Run Off Foul Pole
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PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Henry Davis hasn't had the greatest season from the plate, but showed off his power in his latest game.
Davis faced Washington Nationals left-handed pitcher Mitchell Parker in the bottom of the fifth inning, who he previously hit a fly out off in the bottom of the second inning.
He took a big swat off a fast ball up in the zone on a 1-0 count and hit it right off of the left field foul pole for a solo home run, giving the Pirates a 1-0 lead.
Davis also showed off the Phiten necklaces on his home run trot that Pirates' legend Andrew McCutchen bought for the team to boost team morale and give them a rallying point.
LOUD NOISES! 🔊
— MLB (@MLB) April 16, 2025
Henry Davis homers off the foul pole! pic.twitter.com/dv6CmLV7pk
This serves as the first home run that Davis hit this season and also his first home run at the MLB level since he also hit a solo shot on June 12, 2024 in 4-2 road loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.
Davis came into this game with just two hits in 13 at-bats in four games for a .154 batting average.
The Pirates recalled Davis from Triple-A Indianapolis on April 11, as they optioned right-handed pitcher Chase Shugart.
This move came after catcher Joey Bart left the game vs. the Cincinnati Reds on April 11 with lower discomfort.
Davis has started at catcher four of the past five games and came in for most of the game in the series opener vs. the Nationals on April 14, catching for Pirates star pitcher Paul Skenes.
Endy Rodríguez, who is the backup to Bart, suffered a right index finger laceration in that game and the Pirates placed him on the 10-day Injured List.
Davis had some success this season with the Pirates in spring training, slashing .250/.289/.472 for an OPS of .761. He also had hit two home runs, one of only five Pirates players with multiple home runs.
He struggled last season for the Pirates, slashing .162/.280/.206 in 23 games, before they sent him down to Indianapolis on May 3.
Davis would play in six games in June and eight games in late August/early September, but he hit even worse at .111, finishing with a season batting average of .144.
He did hit well with Indianapolis in 2024, slashing .307/.401/.555 in 57 games, with 67 hits, 15 doubles, 13 home runs, 43 RBIs and 23 walks.
The Pirates took Davis first overall in the 2021 MLB Draft out of Louisville and hit well in the minors, before earning his call-up to the MLB on June 18, 2023.
Davis played in eight games for Indianapolis this season before his call-up, slashing .286/.355/.393 for an OPS of .748, with eight hits in 28 at-bats, three doubles, two RBIs and three walks to four strikeouts, plus two stolen bases.
Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.