As Bednar nears return, his absence felt late

With two outs in the ninth, the big pitch of the night was more or less what Wil Crowe wanted, but it was still tagged. 

After losing Paul Goldschmidt one batter earlier after getting ahead early in the count, Nolan Arenado pulled a first pitch sinker in from Crowe to left to clear the bases and give the Cardinals their first lead of the night.

"Tip your cap to him," a somber Crowe said afterwards. "It's not like I missed over the middle or didn't throw it where I wanted to. I was convicted on that pitch and that's all I can do. Be convicted on what I want to do."

It may not have been the most impactful pitch a Pirate threw that day, though. About seven hours earlier, David Bednar was on that mound, tossing a 20 pitch live batting practice to Hoy Park and Jason Delay. Finally pain free from his lower back injury, it was the first time he had pitched off a major-league mound since July 29.

For the Pirates' All-Star, that absence has been frustrating.

"I want to be out there with the guys and competing," Bednar said. "I always want the ball, so when those kind of chances come up [when I'm] on the IL, it stinks. I'm looking forward to getting back out there."

It's been frustrating for the Pirates too since they do not have much formal depth behind him, making protecting leads difficult. That was the case Saturday, as Crowe and Robert Stephenson failed to put up zeroes late and the Cardinals would come back to beat the Pirates, 7-5, at PNC Park.

Before the game, Derek Shelton mentioned that if there is any positive to being without his All-Star for over a month, it's that he's gotten to see other pitchers in late inning roles. In theory, it's a fine idea, and it's allowed the Pirates to see young pitchers like Collin Holderman and Yerry De Los Santos in more leverage spots while giving Crowe, arguably their second-best reliever this year, some save and ninth inning opportunities. 

But with Holderman and De Los Santos out for the rest of this year and Crowe in a slump, the Pirates' options are thin, hence how they wound up giving the ball to Stephenson, a recent waiver wire pickup who is reworking his fastball grip and mechanics, in the eighth after battling to retake the lead the previous inning.

It didn't go well. After getting two quick strikes to Albert Pujols, the Cardinals first baseman shot a fastball up the middle to knot the game back up at four.

"That’s why he is who he is, regardless of how old he is or what he’s done this year versus right-handed pitching," Shelton said. "He’s smart and he stayed hard and he got a pitch out over the plate and put in play right over the middle.”

While Shelton could have gone in another direction that inning, like try to to get an extra inning out of Duane Underwood Jr. after a 1-2-3 seventh, turn to Chase De Jong or see if Manny Bañuelos was available after he got four outs the night before, perhaps the most telling point is that there is no clear eighth inning guy right now. That might not be at the most pressing of issues for a team well on its way to a fourth straight last place finish, but the bullpen was a strength earlier in the season. They're dealing with injuries, 

Consider this an alternate timeline where those Bednar trade rumors back in July had more substance. Could you imagine the state of the bullpen if his return wasn't coming soon?

There's Crowe, but it's undeniable he's done better in middle relief rather than as an eighth or ninth inning guy. Going by Baseball-Reference's leverage index, Crowe has a .549 OPS against in low leverage spots, a .416 in medium leverage and an .854 in high leverage.

Crowe is a competitor and is fairly uncontroversially the Pirates' best active reliever at the moment. His first extended slump nine earned runs over his last 10 2/3 innings, taking three losses in a 10 game span, has come at the wrong time without Bednar.

"You play the game to go after the best, and I didn't get it done today," Crowe said. "That's what I'm here for. That's what I'm trying to do. Get the best out and be the best."

• Final note on Bednar: No word yet if he will need a rehab assignment before he returns to game action. That decision is going to be made soon, but they need to see how his body reacted to 

• Well, the kids put up a fight.

Rodolfo Castro homered, made a running over the shoulder catch and connected with Tyler Heineman for an out at the plate in the ninth.

Cal Mitchell picked up a pair of doubles, including one in the ninth to give the Pirates' some late life.

Jack Suwinski had three hard hit balls, three hits and a two-run tater in his first big game since being recalled from the minors.

"It feels good," Suwinski said. "A lot of hard work that we’ve been doing consistently in the cage and watching video and talking things out. So, it’s good to see some of those results go into the game."

And Oneil Cruz continued to stay on his hot streak, going 2-for-4 with what could have been the game-winning home run in the seventh:

Alas, JT Brubaker was tagged for a pair of home runs to blow a 3-0 lead before the bullpen collapsed in the late innings.

It was the second straight day where the Pirates picked up double-digit hits, and the rookies played a large part in that. They just couldn't match a couple of MVP candidates and a future Hall of Famer.

• And that future Hall of Famer made history Saturday, turning on this Brubaker slider in the sixth for career home run 696:

That home run ties him with Alex Rodriguez for fourth all-time in MLB history.

“It’s very special,” Pujols told reporters in the Cardinals clubhouse. “I’m aware of where I am in the history of the game, but at the end of the day, 21 years ago when I made the ballclub, it wasn’t something that I was chasing. Twenty two years later, I don’t think I’m going to change my approach."

• Like Roansy Contreras did Monday, Brubaker entered to "Mueve Mami," José Quintana's old walkout song.

Quintana meant a lot to this pitching staff, and he is missed.

• Some roster news: Both Cam Vieaux and Josh VanMeter cleared waivers and were outrighted to Class AAA Indianapolis. 

• With the loss, the Pirates fall to 51-87 on the season, and 12-33 since the All-Star break. Their .370 winning percentage puts them on pace for a 60-102 record. They need to go at least 12-12 down the stretch to avoid a second straight 100-loss season.

And with the loss, they have officially been eliminated from postseason contention.

THE ESSENTIALS

• Boxscore
• Live file
• Standings
• Statistics
• Schedule
• Scoreboard

THE HIGHLIGHTS

THE INJURIES

• 15-day injured list: RHP David Bednar (back), LHP Dillon Peters (left elbow)

• 60-day injured list: RHP Yerry De Los Santos (lat), OF Canaan Njigba-Smith (wrist), RHP Colin Holderman (right shoulder), RHP Blake Cederlind (elbow), RHP Max Kranick (elbow), C Roberto Pérez (hamstring)

THE LINEUPS

Shelton's card for game two:

1. Oneil Cruz, SS
2. Bryan Reynolds, CF
3. Rodolfo Castro, 2B
4. Ben Gamel, DH
5. Ke'Bryan Hayes, 3B
6. Jack Suwinski, LF
7. Michael Chavis, 1B
8. Cal Mitchell, RF
9. Tyler Heineman, C

And for Oliver Marmol's Cardinals:

1. Brendan Donovan, RF
2. Corey Dickerson, LF
3. Paul Goldschmidt, DH
4. Nolan Arenado, 3B
5. Tyler O'Neill, CF
6. Nolan Gorman B2
7. Albert Pujols, 1B
8. Yadier Molina, C
9. Paul DeJong, SS

THE SCHEDULE

One more left on the homestand. For those of you passing on (or periodically switching the channel from) football, Mitch Keller (5-10, 4.22) will take on Quintana (5-6, 3.41) at 1:35 p.m. I'll have you covered from the North Shore.

THE CONTENT

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