With 'ice in his veins,' Bednar coming through in big spots for bullpen

If you see David Bednar before a game, he’s probably wearing a smile as broad as his shoulders. He has a very friendly, welcoming personality, one that has already been noticed by those following the club. Like during the last homestand, when a group of fourth and fifth-grade Little Leaguers came by the home bullpen to see him.

They were from Mars, Butler County, where Bednar grew up. They chatted. He was once in their shoes, hoping to one day pitch for his hometown team.

“I always had big aspirations to play here, but never in my wildest dreams that it would actually come true,” Bednar said Tuesday. “Just beyond blessed to have the opportunity I have right now.”

But once he gets on the mound, Bednar has a different edge.

“This guy’s got ice in his veins,” bullpen coach Justin Meccage told me in Washington last week. “He’s not scared of anything or anybody.”

After a couple of stints with the Padres the last two years, Bednar has emerged as one of the Pirates’ best bullpen arms this season, routinely being used either in the late innings or to try to strand runners before they come home. He has succeeded in both roles.

He’s friendly and fearless.

“That’s probably the first quality of a late-inning guy,” Meccage said, referring to the later.

He showed that trait Tuesday, coming into the game in a pivotal moment. A three-run homer by Yasmani Grandal had just given the White Sox a one-run edge. Derek Shelton turned to Bednar two batters later, and he was able to end the frame without more damage.

The Pirates went on to reclaim the lead in the home half of the seventh, and after two quick frames by Kyle Crick and Richard Rodriguez, they were victorious at PNC Park, 6-3.

Bednar earned his first big-league win in the process. In the clubhouse, his teammates celebrated by drenching him in beer, “pop,” baby powder...

“Whatever is in that clubhouse, I showered with it,” Bednar said, brimming ear to ear. “It was awesome.”

He earned that shower by doing what he has done best this year: Coming through in clutch situations.

Bednar has stranded 12 of the 14 runners he has inherited this season, the third best rate (14.3%) among National League relievers. When there’s a runner in scoring position, batters are just 3-for-26 (.115) against him.

“He goes right after guys,” Shelton said when asked what makes Bednar so successful in those moments. “I think that’s something that we talk about: Learning moments and growth. We’re starting to see this guy grow before our eyes.”

That’s not just throwing strikes, but also being aggressive with his pitches. Meccage brought up one of the things that they’ve been working on with Bednar is to pitch with intent with his breaking and offspeed stuff. In the past, he would get early in counts because he’d try to throw a curve or splitter for a quick strike. There wasn’t as much purpose on that pitch as there would be on a two-strike offering, and hitters would take advantage.

So this year, it’s been about matching that intent on each pitch.

“That’s kind of [been] my mantra the whole year,” Bednar said. “Just go after guys, compete in the zone and good things tend to happen.”

He has plenty to compete in the zone with. A fastball that is within fractions of a mph away from triple digits. A curveball with bite. A splitter that can drop.

Most guys who get late-inning bullpen work only have one or two pitches they can rely on. Bednar is a rarity.

“When you’re talking about three pitches with a reliever, you’re in a pretty good spot,” Meccage said.

And once you mix that with that late-inning mentality, the Pirates just might have a closer in waiting.

“This guy’s got some skills that not all relievers have,” Meccage said.

MORE FROM THE GAME

• It's been an eventful couple of days for the Bednar brothers. David got his first win Tuesday, and his brother, Will, tossed a 15-strikeout gem for Mississippi State in the College World Series Sunday.

The younger Bednar is one of the top pitching prospects in the College World Series and a potential first-round pick in the upcoming amateur draft.

So which is more impressive? A big-league win or that type of show?

“I think my brother takes the cake on that one," David said. "That was fun to watch.”

• While Bednar got the win, Tyler Anderson did the heavy lifting, being in control for most of his 6 2/3 innings.

"Tyler Anderson picked us up," Shelton said.

The one mistake was the aforementioned Grandal homer. Beside that, he kept the White Sox hitters off balance and got 11 ground outs and four strikeouts. He came into Tuesday's start with a 37.3% ground ball rate, lower than his career average, so he focused on trying to get weak contact on the ground.

How did he do it?

"Just good pitches," Anderson said. "Not a lot in the middle of the plate, some in selective counts I think. Just in general trying to stay out of the middle." 

• Lucas Giolito will have to settle for just one no-hitter against the Pirates, but he was quite good again Tuesday, going six innings of two-run ball and leaving in a position to get the win.

But the Pirates came through in the bottom of the seventh against White Sox power lefty Garrett Crochet. Gregory Polanco and Phillip Evans led off the inning with base hits, and then Yoan Moncada threw away a perfectly placed bunt by Kevin Newman that went down as a hit and an error.

"It was intended to be a sacrifice, and it was just placed better than I intended," Newman said.

Pinch-hitter Erik Gonzalez lined a single past a drawn-in infield to follow to retake the lead, and Bryan Reynolds added the second of his two RBI hits of the night to cap the scoring.

Entering the game, the Pirates were hitting just .217 against lefties. Polanco (.104), Evans (.184) and Newman (.132) were all well below the Mendoza line against southpaws. Those hits got Anderson off the hook for his tough finish.

 "To pick him up, that felt pretty good," Adam Frazier said. "Just at-bat by at-bat and guys not giving in, and doing their best."

• The White Sox got a very good look at Frazier tonight, especially early. He saw 24 pitches in his first three plate appearances, two of which resulted in a 10-pitch home run in the third and a walk after falling behind 0-2.

"I think it’s commitment to his approach," Shelton said. "He can have that short swing and not stay committed to his approach, but he stays committed to his approach throughout the entire at-bat and never really gives at-bats away. I think it’s a testament not only to his short stroke, but his game plan going into that at-bat or any at-bat."

Not to run the guy out of town, but Frazier is one of the top players available at the trade deadline, and the White Sox are a potential suitor after they lost their starting second baseman, Nick Madrigal, for the year. This short series will  give them an up-close look at him.

Before then, Frazier could potentially head to Denver for the All-Star game. He is currently second in All-Star voting at his position, trailing Ozzie Albies of the Braves.

"I try to tune it out as much as I can," Frazier said on the voting. "Just take it day by day, and play hard and see what happens. But, you know it would mean a lot. I've been dreaming of that as a kid. Getting to the major leagues, and then being an All-Star. So, it'd be pretty awesome if I am able to do that."

THE ESSENTIALS

Boxscore
Scoreboard
Standings
Statistics

THE LINEUPS

Shelton's card:

Adam Frazier, 2B
Ke'Bryan Hayes, 3B
Bryan Reynolds, CF
Colin Moran, 1B
Jacob Stallings, C
Gregory Polanco, RF
Phillip Evans, LF
Kevin Newman, SS
Tyler Anderson, P

And for Tony La Russa's White Sox:

Tim Anderson, SS
Brian Goodwin, CF
Yoan Moncada, 3B
Jose Abreu, 1B
Andrew Vaughn, LF
Leury Garcia, RF
Zack Collins, C
Danny Mendick, 2B
Lucas Giolito, P

THE SCHEDULE

The Pirates and White Sox will conclude their two-game set in a Wednesday getaway matinee. Chase De Jong (0-1, 4.26) will try to earn the Pirates' first sweep of the season against Dylan Cease (5-3, 3.99). First pitch is at 12:35 p.m.

IN THE SYSTEM

• Roansy Contreras wasn't quite his dominant self Tuesday, allowing four runs against Harrisburg, though three were unearned. One earned run over five frames actually dropped his season ERA down to 2.00, with seven strikeouts and no walks to boot.

Our Jarrod Prugar also picked up an important note on Oneil Cruz's defense:

Ben Cherington said Saturday that Cruz would start to move around on defense before he left Class AA.

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