Pirates 9, Reds 1: Henry Davis Goes Deep Twice Behind Mitch Keller

The lead

May 1, 2026 - Pittsburgh - The Pittsburgh Pirates ended a five-game slide in loud fashion, beating the Cincinnati Reds 9-1 at PNC Park after a 91-minute rain delay to open the night.

Henry Davis homered in consecutive innings for his first two long balls of the season. Mitch Keller worked seven innings of three-hit ball, and Bryan Reynolds opened the scoring with a 443-foot solo shot to center. Marcell Ozuna added a two-run homer in a four-run fifth as Pittsburgh pulled away, with Nick Gonzales going 3-for-3 with a walk in reporting from the Associated Press and CBS Sports GameTracker.

How the game turned

The game sharpened once Reynolds went deep in the first. Cincinnati still had the runway of a division leader; Pittsburgh needed proof its bats could stack innings after a rough week.

Davis supplied the emotional swing. His solo homer in the fourth made it 4-0. His two-run shot in the fifth capped a four-run frame and pushed the lead to 8-0, turning a tight matchup into a statement after a quiet start to his line on the stat sheet.

The Reds could not answer quickly enough. Brady Singer allowed four runs on seven hits in 3 1/3 innings, and Cincinnati never rebuilt contact against Keller once Pittsburgh found a steady zone.

Pitching and matchup notes

Keller improved to 3-1 while punching out six, walking one, and allowing one run in seven frames. CBS Sports noted his 104 pitches were the most thrown by a Pirates pitcher in 2026 to that point, a workload signal that matters for a rotation trying to stabilize.

Cincinnati broke up the shutout in the sixth when TJ Friedl doubled and scored on Elly De La Cruz's groundout. Justin Lawrence and Evan Sisk each worked a perfect inning to close it.

Singer's short start forced an early bullpen rhythm on a night the offense only managed three hits total, two from Friedl.

Bats that changed the board

Davis' two-homer performance was also his second career multi-homer game, per AP. Reynolds tripled in addition to his long ball. Ryan O'Hearn joined the multi-hit column in the AP line.

For Cincinnati, Friedl was the only batter with multiple hits. De La Cruz drove in the lone run with productive contact, but the middle of the order could not match Pittsburgh's surge.

AthX Engine fantasy angle

The Pirates led the May 1 slate with 20 AthX Engine team FP, the night's highest club total. Mitch Keller paced all pitchers with 25 AthX Engine pitching FP, while Bryan Reynolds ranked among the top hitters at 11 AthX Engine hitting FP in daily scoring.

That is how a blowout shows up on fantasy boards: premium starter volume plus multiple homers and traffic from the heart of the lineup. AthX Engine daily scoring is separate from dynamic pricing.

What comes next

Pittsburgh carried momentum into Saturday with Carmen Mlodzinski lined up against Rhett Lowder in the AP schedule note. Cincinnati left town with a reminder that division leads do not cushion bad nights on the mound.

*Sources: MLB.com schedule, MLB Gameday, ESPN, CBS Sports GameTracker, Associated Press, and AthX Engine scoring. Information only; not financial advice.*