After extended stint on IL, Bednar explains why his return is important

"Renegade" kicked in a little later than usual Thursday. Since there was a between inning advertisement on the scoreboard in the top of the seventh, the accompanying video that normally plays when the Pirates' closer enters the game was skipped.

"Still good to hear it, good to be back at PNC and anytime you get to pitch in the big leagues is awesome," David Bednar said after the game. "Never take it for granted, and good to be back with the guys."

So it wasn't quite the return many expected for Bednar, but on Thursday at PNC Park, the Pirates' All-Star returned after being sidelined a month and a half with a low back injury. He pitched one frame and allowed what would end up being a pivotal run in a 3-2 loss to the Cubs.

It had been decided before the game that Bednar's first game back wasn't going to be the ninth inning. With only a dozen games remaining after Thursday's loss, the goal is to help him finish the year healthy and on his terms.

Watching him Thursday, it was clear there was some rust to be knocked off. His fastball maxed out at 95.4 mph, more than a tick what his season average was. Had it not been for an inning-ending double play off a splitter, his outing could have gone a lot worse than the 25-pitch outing he put together, allowing a couple hits and a walk in the frame.

Is there much more the All-Star can accomplish on the field this year? Perhaps not, but he wasn't hearing any discussions of ending his season early after being placed on the injured list on August 3.

"Definitely none that I'm a part of," Bednar said. "I don't want to be a part of any of that. That's something I'm not even going to put in my head. I want to go back out there and compete with the guys and finish the season strong."

"He probably would’ve liked to have come back a lot sooner than we allowed him," Derek Shelton said. "He wants to pitch. It was really important for us and David because, No. 1, we had to gauge where he’s at health-wise and be very mindful of that. But once we got him off the mound, once we got him down the slope, once we got all the discomfort alleviated and he started to throw the ball again, then it was really important for both of us – meaning the team and David – to make sure that he finished the season healthy.” 

A healthy finish would go a long way for both Bednar and the bullpen, which has struggled in his absence, especially late in games.

"That's the stuff that always kind of gets to you," Bednar said. "Just being healthy again and go out there and compete with them, because they've been playing their butts off. Getting back there and finishing the season strong is really important to me."

There's no guarantee that Bednar will go back into that ninth inning role, depending on how conservatively Shelton wants to use him down the stretch, both in terms of deployment and how many days he can pitch. For Bednar, it just means he will live by the same motto he has all season.

“Whenever the phone rings, I’m ready to go,” Bednar said. “Whenever they want me to be in there, I’ll be more than willing to just go out there and get some outs.”

MORE FROM THE GAME

• For the second consecutive outing, Mitch Keller spun a quality start but still took the loss.

His mistakes Thursday were limited to just the second inning, allowing a two-out, two-run double to Christopher Morel. From there, he locked in and struck out seven over his six innings.

"[In the] first couple [innings], I didn't feel like I had much power behind my legs," Keller said. "After the second inning, I kind of went in the dugout and just told myself I just needed to be more aggressive. I didn't think anything delivery, didn’t think anything pitch-wise or anything like that. I just thought [be] more aggressive."

A more aggressive Keller immediately saw better results, striking out the side in the third, all on sliders.

With that outing, Keller's season ERA is now 3.99, the lowest it's been at the end of any start this year. 

"That's definitely exciting, especially with where I started, I think I was over 6.00," Keller said. "So just to get it down there and hopefully keep going… I've got two or three more left and trying to get down as low as possible. We're doing good things out there."

• Bryan Reynolds had himself a big night, going 3-for-3 with two doubles and a couple walks, but he was stranded all five times he reached. That includes the ninth, where he and Ke'Bryan Hayes were both left in scoring position when Rodolfo Castro lined out to center field.

The Pirates left 10 men on base and went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

"I think that’s the frustrating part of tonight: We couldn’t get the big hit," Shelton said. "If you go into that situation, you lose 3-2 and you don’t have the opportunities, then it’s different. We had opportunities tonight and it’s an area that we need to be better at. We need to be able to capitalize when we get guys in scoring position."

• Oh yeah, Cubs starter Hayden Wesneski had an immaculate inning, striking out the side on just nine pitches. 

• Bednar was also presented with his Roberto Clemente Award Thursday, the first home game since the actual Clemente day last week and his first day back with the team since his rehab trip.

• Bednar was asked at the end of his availability if he'd seen the George Pickens catch yet. "No, not yet. One of my buddies texted me, and I said, 'Yeah, sorry, I was working.'"

• Your daily transaction news: Tyler Beede has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Class AAA Indianapolis. He was designated for assignment last week.

Eric Stout was also placed on the injured list with low back discomfort, which opened up a spot for Bednar.

• In more injury news, JT Brubaker started throwing again Wednesday, and the door isn't closed for him making one more start. Nothing is guaranteed yet though, director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk told reporters.

• With the loss, the Pirates fall to 55-95 on the season. They need to go at least 8-4 down the stretch to avoid a second straight 100-loss season.

THE ESSENTIALS

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

THE HIGHLIGHTS

THE INJURIES

• 15-day injured list: RHP JT Brubaker (right arm inflammation), LHP Eric Stout (low back discomfort)

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

THE LINEUPS

Shelton's card:

1. Oneil Cruz, SS
2. Bryan Reynolds, DH
3. Rodolfo Castro, 3B
4. Ben Gamel, LF
5. Cal Mitchell, RF
6. Kevin Newman, 2B
7. Jack Suwinski, CF
8. Zack Collins, 1B
9. Jason Delay, C

And for David Ross' Cubs:

1. Zack, McKinstry, 2B
2. Ian Happ, LF
3. Franmil Reyes, DH
4. Yan Gomes, C
5. David Bote, 3B
6. Alfonso Rivas, 1B
7. Nelson Velázquez, RF
8. Michael Hermosillo, CF
9. Christopher Morel, SS

THE SCHEDULE

Bryse Wilson (3-9, 6.07) will take the ball Friday against Javier Assad (1-2, 3.86) Friday at 6:35 p.m. I'll have you covered.

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