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.

“Process-wise, it’s definitely been the best month I’ve had in the big leagues and it’s super frustrating to not have the results that I feel like would line up,” Davis said. “Just trying to stay diligent and work hard and be prepared.

“The stuff I’ve been doing — hitting the ball harder, hitting the ball well, taking my walks, striking out less — that’s an indication for stuff in the future.”

Pittsburgh’s 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.

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)

“If you have control on the mound when you’re pitching, there’s no reason to be scared on the mound or have fear,” Dotel said through an interpreter.

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.

Michael Busch hit his sixth homer of the season for Chicago, but it wasn’t enough to halt a funk that is nearing three weeks. Chicago’s nine-game skid is the franchise’s 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.

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.

Pirates starter Carmen Mlodzinski — fighting hard to stay in the rotation as Jared Jones nears his return from elbow surgery — allowed one run over five innings with three walks and three strikeouts.

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’ Ben Brown and removed his protective gear to take first base, but the pitch was ruled a ball.

The call was subsequently upheld, and Kelly was tossed after protesting the ruling.

“Seeing the replay felt like it definitely grazed his helmet,” Kelly said. “And you got a kid in Konnor Griffin that is not going to lie — there is no way Konnor Griffin is going to lie about that. He didn’t even look at the umpire. He took his stuff off and went down to first base. I will always have Konnor’s back and all the guys’ backs.”

Up next

The series continues today. Braxton Ashcraft (3-2, 2.89 ERA) starts for the Pirates.