On May 27, Henry Davis’ performance coming off the bench against the Arizona Diamondbacks encapsulated what it meant to be ready when your number is called.

That night, in the fifth inning, Davis relieved Joey Bart behind the plate, who exited with a concussion. A frame later, taking his first at-bat of the game, Davis launched a two-run homer, producing the first of nine unanswered runs that allowed the Pirates to come back from a 6-0 hole, winning 9-6 in Phoenix.

On top of chipping in offensively, Davis had to call the remainder of the game, working with pitchers Joey Wentz, Dennis Santana and David Bednar to complete the big comeback.

On Tuesday night in Detroit, Alexander Canario found himself in a similar spot to Davis a few weeks ago.

Canario was not in the starting lineup at Comerica Park, but quickly entered the game in the second inning, replacing Bryan Reynolds, who exited to join his wife, Blair, in labor with their third child.

In his first at-bat, he ripped a two-run single off Detroit starter Casey Mize.

“Coming off the bench in that situation, to get a big base hit, two RBIs, drove the ball the other way — that’s tough to do, especially early in the game like that,” manager Don Kelly said on the SportsNet Pittsburgh postgame show. “Bryan had one at-bat, goes out and Canario’s right in there.”

In the third inning, Isaiah Kiner-Falefa led off against Mize with a single.

Kiner-Falefa was then moved to third on a double by Andrew McCutchen, bringing Canario to the plate with one out and two men on.

Finding himself in a 3-0 count against Mize, Canario swung on the fourth pitch he saw, a chest-high heater, depositing a single into right field that cleared the bases.

— SportsNet Pittsburgh (@SNPittsburgh) June 17, 2025

Canario’s hit produced two-third of the Pirates’ runs in a 7-3 loss.

Individually, Canario had to be feeling good, as the hit went for his first since June 3.

Following a solid May, during which he slashed .279/.326/.407 with two homers, three doubles and six RBIs, Canario’s playing time has decreased substantially in June.

In part, that was due to his own struggles at the plate, as before Tuesday, Canario had gone just 1 for 19 (.053) in June.

But Canario had also seen his path to the outfield blocked by Adam Frazier, who himself was dislodged from his primary position, second base, due to Nick Gonzales returning from the injured list.

When Gonzales made his post-injury return June 3, Kelly had decisions to make as far as filling out the rest of his lineup card, particularly in how to allocate reps.

Frazier, who was batting .254 entering Tuesday, has been hitting well enough to keep himself in the lineup, with six starts this month coming in left field, compared to three for Canario, whose last was June 8.

Kelly said after Tuesday’s loss that Reynolds is likely to be unavailable for the remainder of the three-game series in Detroit as he attends to his growing family.

That could mean some opportunities in the outfield for Canario.

Regardless, Kelly was impressed with how he handled himself when unexpectedly called upon.

“I think that the guys off the bench have been ready. Henry’s shown the ability to do that, Canario came in today, and was ready to roll,” Kelly said.

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