In his latest victory, Pirates closer David Bednar tests his limits

After striking out Will Smith to clinch a comeback win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday night, David Bednar couldn’t contain his excitement on AT&T SportsNet’s postgame interview.

When Robby Incmikoski asked him about the excitement of beating the best team in baseball, the Pittsburgh Pirates closer dropped an F-bomb on live television and then immediately apologized.

“Sorry, exciting,” Bednar said. “What a game. They battled back and picked me up. To get that one was huge.”

David Bednar just joined Tyler Palko in the F-bomb hall of fame. #Pittsburgh guys, man. ????????‍♂️

— ForTheCity_412 (@JimStamm22) May 31, 2022

It wasn’t the first time Bednar bounced back that night at Dodger Stadium. After blowing his first save in 10 chances in the eighth inning, the Mars alum returned to pitch the ninth and record the victory in a 6-5 win.

Bednar tested his limits by throwing a career-high 50 pitches in the two innings, including 35 for strikes. Pirates manager Derek Shelton said Bednar was down to his final batter when he recorded the final out.

“He emptied it,” Shelton said. “To go through that lineup at any point is a grind, but having to go through the group of guys that he did …”

Bednar inherited a one-run lead in the eighth, only to allow Trea Turner’s leadoff double to left. Tucupita Marcano almost threw Turner out at second, but the ball skipped off the glove of Diego Castillo. Bednar rebounded by getting Smith to fly out to right and striking out Edwin Rios swinging at a 3-2 curveball for the second out.

Then he ran into more trouble, as Justin Turner doubled to score Trea Turner to tie the score at 4-4. Chris Taylor then hit an RBI single to right-center to score Justin Turner and give the Dodgers a 5-4 lead.

When the Pirates rallied by scoring two runs off Dodgers closer Craig Kimbrel in the top of the ninth, Shelton turned to pitching coach Oscar Marin to see if Bednar could close out the game.

Bednar had thrown 27 pitches in the eighth, two shy of his season high, but relievers Duane Underwood Jr., Wil Crowe and Chris Stratton weren’t available after pitching Sunday.

“We were a little strapped,” Shelton said. “We were in a situation where we had the kids out there and just faith in him.”

Bednar didn’t hesitate to accept the challenge, knowing it was a chance to redeem himself. The 6-foot-1, 250-pounder is “built like an ox,” Shelton said, and wanted the outcome of the game to rest on his broad shoulders.

“I wanted it, for sure,” Bednar said. “They asked me, and I’m always going to want the ball in these spots.”

The Dodgers didn’t make it easy. The first two batters he faced were Hanser Alberto and Mookie Betts, who hit back-to-back home runs in the fifth. Bednar got Alberto swinging at a curveball for a strikeout, but Betts hit a ground-rule double to put the tying run at second.

Bednar walked Freddie Freeman to put the winning run on base but got Trea Turner to fly out to right, and Jack Suwinski’s throw held both runners. That brought Bednar back to Smith, who fouled off three pitches to bring the pitch count to 49.

“Aw, man. I didn’t even know,” Bednar said. “I just went out there and let it rip.”

Bednar turned to his splitter to get Smith swinging for the final out, punctuating a huge victory for the Pirates.

“That was the last hitter. We weren’t going over 50 with him,” Shelton said. “He’s way too important to us, now and in the future.”

Bednar was focused on prevailing in the present.

“That was electric from him,” Pirates starter Zach Thompson said. “That was so cool to see. To come back and once we took the lead, to go out there and shut them down, that was so cool. That’s an awesome job.”