After Chris Stratton squandered the lead in the seventh inning, David Bednar won his fifth save of the season with a two-inning save.
With a 2-1 lead, Pittsburgh used David Bednar in the eighth inning and Chris Statton in the ninth.
Bednar recorded his fourth save by retiring the side on ten pitches, but Stratton was not nearly as effective, surrendering the lead and blowing the save.
Bednar (0.00 ERA) is the superior pitcher here, but unless Stratton (5.40 ERA) starts to struggle more, the two will likely continue to share save opportunities.
The Pirates have a two-handed committee method to closing this season, as we mentioned in our NL Central Preview, with David Bedner and Chris Stratton sharing the role.
In an interview last week, manager Derek Shelton confirmed this, saying that they aim to rotate them in and out of the ninth inning depending on matchups.
The Pirates will still struggle to win games, but if you’re searching for a saves alternative that may have gone unnoticed in your selection, either side of this committee could provide you with some inexpensive saves.
David Bednar made his second appearance since returning from the IL, pitching a scoreless eighth inning to set up a Chris Stratton save.
Stratton appears to be in the lead for saves, but as we said yesterday, Bednar could get a shot this week. Since July 2, Bednar has only allowed two runs (both earned).