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<\/p>\nPittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Gregory Soto reacts during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Monday, May 25, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo\/David Dermer)<\/p>\n
PITTSBURGH \u2014 Henry Davis hit a go-ahead solo home run in the seventh inning, and the Pittsburgh Pirates sent the Chicago Cubs to their ninth straight loss with a 2-1 victory on Monday.<\/p>\n
Davis turned on a 91 mph cutter from Cubs reliever Trent Thornton (2-1) and sent it well over the right-field fence for his fourth home run of the season.<\/p>\n
\u201cProcess-wise, it\u2019s definitely been the best month I\u2019ve had in the big leagues and it\u2019s super frustrating to not have the results that I feel like would line up,\u201d Davis said. \u201cJust trying to stay diligent and work hard and be prepared.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe stuff I\u2019ve been doing \u2014 hitting the ball harder, hitting the ball well, taking my walks, striking out less \u2014 that\u2019s an indication for stuff in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pittsburgh\u2019s bullpen made it stand up. Wilber Dotel (1-0) tossed three scoreless innings in relief to pick up the victory. Gregory Soto worked a perfect ninth for his sixth save as the Pirates beat the Cubs for the third time in four tries so far this season.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Pittsburgh Pirates manager Don Kelly argues with umpire Dan Bellino after being ejected during the second inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Monday, May 25, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo\/David Dermer)<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you have control on the mound when you\u2019re pitching, there\u2019s no reason to be scared on the mound or have fear,\u201d Dotel said through an interpreter. <\/p>\n
Brandon Lowe had two hits for Pittsburgh, including an RBI double. Spencer Horwitz also had a pair of hits and a handful of excellent plays at first base, all of them against Cubs star Pete Crow-Armstrong. Horwitz was perfectly positioned to snatch a couple of line drives and then made a brilliant diving grab on a sharp grounder before tossing to Dotel covering first to rob Crow-Armstrong of a hit.<\/p>\n
Michael Busch hit his sixth homer of the season for Chicago, but it wasn\u2019t enough to halt a funk that is nearing three weeks. Chicago\u2019s nine-game skid is the franchise\u2019s longest since a 10-game slide in 2022. The Cubs have dropped 13 of 15 overall to fall into the middle of the pack in the hyper-competitive NL Central, where all five teams started Memorial Day above .500.<\/p>\n
Cubs starter Ben Brown allowed one run and four hits over six innings with two walks and seven strikeouts, whittling his ERA to 2.01.<\/p>\n
Pirates starter Carmen Mlodzinski \u2014 fighting hard to stay in the rotation as Jared Jones nears his return from elbow surgery \u2014 allowed one run over five innings with three walks and three strikeouts.<\/p>\n
Pirates manager Don Kelly was ejected for the second time in three days in the bottom of the second. Konnor Griffin appeared to be clipped on the helmet by a pitch from the Cubs\u2019 Ben Brown and removed his protective gear to take first base, but the pitch was ruled a ball.<\/p>\n
The call was subsequently upheld, and Kelly was tossed after protesting the ruling.<\/p>\n
\u201cSeeing the replay felt like it definitely grazed his helmet,\u201d Kelly said. \u201cAnd you got a kid in Konnor Griffin that is not going to lie \u2014 there is no way Konnor Griffin is going to lie about that. He didn\u2019t even look at the umpire. He took his stuff off and went down to first base. I will always have Konnor\u2019s back and all the guys\u2019 backs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Up next<\/p>\n
The series continues today. Braxton Ashcraft (3-2, 2.89 ERA) starts for the Pirates.<\/p>\n
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