When it comes to catching Paul Skenes, Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Henry Davis takes zero credit for the success of the two-time All-Star right-hander and accepts all of the blame.

That’s not to say Davis doesn’t enjoy being behind the plate for the 2024 National League Rookie of the Year and 2025 Cy Young candidate, especially given Skenes leads the major leagues with a 1.91 ERA, 223 ERA+ and 5.4 bWAR in 21 starts this season.

“Obviously, it’s pretty fun to catch, (but) I don’t have any relationship to his success or anything like that,” Davis said. “I think he could throw to a net. You know I’m pretty honest: It is 100% just the plan. That is the downside. There’s no doubt if there’s a bad game that it’s my fault. Think about it: If you’ve got three heaters — two are 100 (mph) and one’s 95 — two breaking balls, a changeup and commands the ball like he does, there’s no chance they’re hitting all seven.”

So, Davis can only draw one logical conclusion: “It definitely is my fault when we give up a hit. It sucks.”

That Davis has caught Skenes in 18 consecutive games says otherwise. They formed the first MLB battery of No. 1 overall draft picks — Davis out of Louisville in 2021, Skenes out of LSU in 2023 — and have developed a bond that goes beyond what happens on the diamond.

Since Endy Rodriguez suffered a laceration on his right (throwing) hand in the first inning against the Washington Nationals on April 14 at PNC Park, Davis has caught every inning that Skenes has pitched. Skenes has posted an eye-popping 1.67 ERA in 102 2/3 innings over those 17 starts. In his most recent start, Skenes was efficient in throwing 55 of his 86 pitches for strikes with six strikeouts against three hits and one walk in six scoreless innings in a 3-0 win over the Detroit Tigers to stop a three-game losing streak and a skid in which the Pirates had lost 11 of 12 games.

That’s why Skenes is dismissive when Davis takes full responsibility.

“He does this crap to me,” Skenes said, mimicking Davis tapping his chest protector to take blame for a bad pitch call, “and I hate it because every one of these that he feels he made the wrong call on — I shake him every once in a while, but I trust him — every time he does that, I’m like, ‘Dude, stop it.’ There are probably 10 where he sees something I don’t see, and we get a guy out because of that.”

Skenes believes he benefited from pitching to a two-time All-Star catcher in veteran Yasmani Grandal in 19 of his 23 starts as a rookie yet shares an anecdote why Davis being deferential is unnecessary. It came in the fifth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals on July 23, 2024, when Grandal suggested a curveball instead of a slider.

“Arenado hit it into the front row in left field, and Yaz didn’t do that … ‘my bad’ crap,” Skenes said. “I told Henry, ‘We’re a team. I made the pitch. We’re in this together.’”

For Davis, the preparation that goes into catching Skenes can begin as many as eight hours before first pitch. He comes in early to study scouting reports and video of hitters, familiarizing himself with their tendencies and strengths and weaknesses against Skenes’ seven offerings before doing his early work in the batting cage. Skenes listed the characteristics of Davis that he’s impressed with, from his listening skills to doing his homework to providing good setups.

“All of it circles back to listening and working hard. He looks at the data, watches video, all of that. He probably works harder than I do in a lot of that stuff,” Skenes said. “He has really good eyes and sees the game very well. We continue to learn each other. There’s always something to get better at with that kind of thing. Our relationship has evolved as the season has gone on, for sure.”

What Skenes appreciates about having Davis as his personal catcher is that it simplifies his learning curve. Now that Skenes has faced most MLB teams multiple times, he’s adapting to the adjustments they are making to him while enjoying consistency from his catcher.

“Their relationship is great,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said. “Henry has done a nice job with it in finding not only just the pitches but when you talk about the stuff with it, he’s done a really good job of being able to manage all of it with the way Paul has things (going). He can go anywhere up to 100 mph then he throws the splinker and the sweeper. There’s just so many things, and they’re typically on the same page as far as the game plan and during the game how game calling goes.”

Davis sees room for improvement, especially in recognizing which hitters can’t touch Skenes’ triple-digit heater and will instead sit on the 95-mph splinker and which pitches they prefer — four-seamer or sinker, slider or curveball — so that he can keep them off-balance.

Davis sees himself as safety net but calls catching Skenes “a blessing.”

“It’s an enjoyable aspect of the game and a challenge for myself to continue getting better at calling games,” Davis said. “It’s something I take a lot of pride in. It makes me better, for sure.”

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