In his fourth appearance since returning to the Pirates, David Bednar looked to be in top form tonight as he closed out the Pirates' 3-0 shutout win over the Dodgers and picked up his second save of the season.
After making two appearances against the Angels earlier this week in middle-relief situations, Shelton handed the ball to Bednar in the top of the ninth inning and the former two-time All-Star showed what he's capable of. He allowed one walk and induced one fly ball before striking out the final two hitters he faced.
"He’s looked good. The execution of all three pitches, I think," Derek Shelton said tonight. "Earlier in the year, and when we sent him out, we needed to see all three pitches and we’re seeing that now."
Bednar threw 15 pitches -- eight fastballs, five curveballs and two splitters -- eight of which went for strikes. He stayed away from the middle of the strike zone, used his fastball up in the zone and dropped in his curveball to keep hitters off balance.
BASEBALL SAVANT
Bednar became an All-Star in 2022 and 2023 because of his ability to use all three of his pitches effectively because they work off each other. When he's able to throw his curveball for a strike, hitters have to honor it and can't sit on his high fastball. His splitter works into that mix as well.
Now, as he's worked his way back into the Pirates' bullpen, he's felt comfortable with all three and has used the term "conviction" to describe how he's thrown them. On this night, he looked the best he has.
"I think one of the reasons why I'm able to have success is throw all three for strikes and any pitch, any count," Bednar said. "I think these past couple outings, I've really implemented that."
Since returning from Class AAA Indianapolis, Bednar hadn't been given an opportunity to close out a game. He worked in tight situations, but not a high-leverage situation like the one he did tonight.
With the way it worked out, Ryan Borucki closed out the seventh inning by facing two lefties. Dennis Santana got the eighth where he faced Andy Pages, Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, the heart of the Dodgers order, and Bednar faced the 4-5-6 hitters in Teoscar Hernandez, Tommy Edman and Will Smith to close the door.
"It's huge," Bednar said about being trusted to close out the game. "I think having that trust from your teammates and from the coaching staff and getting the ball in that situation, you just want to go right after guys and seal the deal."
And that's what he did.
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THE ASYLUM
Greg Macafee
5:08 am - 04.26.2025LOS ANGELESMound Visit: Is Bednar back?
In his fourth appearance since returning to the Pirates, David Bednar looked to be in top form tonight as he closed out the Pirates' 3-0 shutout win over the Dodgers and picked up his second save of the season.
After making two appearances against the Angels earlier this week in middle-relief situations, Shelton handed the ball to Bednar in the top of the ninth inning and the former two-time All-Star showed what he's capable of. He allowed one walk and induced one fly ball before striking out the final two hitters he faced.
"He’s looked good. The execution of all three pitches, I think," Derek Shelton said tonight. "Earlier in the year, and when we sent him out, we needed to see all three pitches and we’re seeing that now."
Bednar threw 15 pitches -- eight fastballs, five curveballs and two splitters -- eight of which went for strikes. He stayed away from the middle of the strike zone, used his fastball up in the zone and dropped in his curveball to keep hitters off balance.
BASEBALL SAVANT
Bednar became an All-Star in 2022 and 2023 because of his ability to use all three of his pitches effectively because they work off each other. When he's able to throw his curveball for a strike, hitters have to honor it and can't sit on his high fastball. His splitter works into that mix as well.
Now, as he's worked his way back into the Pirates' bullpen, he's felt comfortable with all three and has used the term "conviction" to describe how he's thrown them. On this night, he looked the best he has.
"I think one of the reasons why I'm able to have success is throw all three for strikes and any pitch, any count," Bednar said. "I think these past couple outings, I've really implemented that."
Since returning from Class AAA Indianapolis, Bednar hadn't been given an opportunity to close out a game. He worked in tight situations, but not a high-leverage situation like the one he did tonight.
With the way it worked out, Ryan Borucki closed out the seventh inning by facing two lefties. Dennis Santana got the eighth where he faced Andy Pages, Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, the heart of the Dodgers order, and Bednar faced the 4-5-6 hitters in Teoscar Hernandez, Tommy Edman and Will Smith to close the door.
"It's huge," Bednar said about being trusted to close out the game. "I think having that trust from your teammates and from the coaching staff and getting the ball in that situation, you just want to go right after guys and seal the deal."
And that's what he did.
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