David Bednar's new high-leverage relief role for the Pirates comes with a curveball

After giving up a leadoff double to Miguel Cabrera in the eighth inning, David Bednar returned to what fast has become a go-to pitch.

After blowing hitters away with a 97-mph four-seam fastball that can touch triple digits, the Pittsburgh Pirates reliever has spent the summer cultivating a curveball. The 6-foot-1, 245-pound right-hander threw the curve on nine of his 13 pitches in the 3-2 win over the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday night at PNC Park.

“I’ve definitely got a lot more confidence in it,” said Bednar, 26, a Mars alum. “The past couple outings, I’ve started to be a little more aggressive with it. With that, I’ve gained some feel and some more confidence with it. I already felt like I could throw it at anytime in the count. Now, kind of even more so.”

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And sword. ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/S2G3AIEwop

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Pirates manager Derek Shelton cited the development of the curveball — which he called “elite” — as the biggest improvement of the season for Bednar. According to Statcast, Bednar is throwing the curveball with the same frequency (22.2%) as his split-finger fastball (22.3%).

“The curveball was his third pitch coming out of spring training and definitely a work in progress,” said Shelton, who credited pitching coach Oscar Marin and bullpen coach Justin Meccage for helping Bednar. “I think that he just continues to get better. You talk about development, I mean, here’s a guy with an elite fastball, above-average split and now, all of a sudden, he’s added another thing into his arsenal.”

When Bednar struck out the side in the ninth inning of Monday’s 6-3 win for his third save, 10 of his 14 pitches were four-seamers, and two were splitters. He got all three batters swinging, however, on curveballs. Shelton was most impressed with how Bednar wasn’t afraid to turn to his newest pitch after twice getting behind in counts.

“I think right there just shows the confidence he has in it,” Shelton said.

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4 K's in 2 scoreless Innings for the @Pirates!

We head to the 11th tied at 5! pic.twitter.com/RXfA84zcWP

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Bednar’s confidence has increased as his role has expanded to high-leverage situations after the Pirates dealt closer Richard Rodriguez to Atlanta at the trade deadline in July. Shelton has used Bednar and Chris Stratton in save situations over the past month, often depending on the matchups on a given night. Where Bednar pitched the ninth against the bottom of the Tigers’ order Monday, he entered in the eighth to face the heart of it Tuesday.

“There’s definitely a script where there’s certain guys in certain settings,” Shelton said. “We’re playing to the matchup and to the leverage, and one of the things that happens in those situation is you end up creating the best matchups for your players and putting them in the best situation. That’s what we’re trying to do.”

Stratton is 5-1, with a 3.76 ERA and three saves in 69 1/3 innings pitched. So Shelton has a choice of hot hands, even if both are righties. Though new to their high-leverage roles with the Pirates, both relievers are learning to prepare for a call to the bullpen any time late in the game.

“We’re just always ready,” Bednar said. “He’s been shoving, so it’s been a lot of fun back there with him, to watch him go out there and punch guys out. We’re always kind of locked in. Whenever the phone rings, we’re all pulling for each other.”

Bednar was a closer throughout the minor leagues in the San Diego system before being traded to the Pirates in the three-team deal involving Joe Musgrove. After going 0-2 with a 6.75 ERA in 17 appearances over two seasons with the Padres, Bednar is 3-1 with a 2.18 ERA in 57 2/3 innings with the Pirates this season.

His confidence — in his curveball and himself — was on display after allowing Cabrera to lead off the eighth with a double off a 1-2 curve. With the tying run in scoring position, the Tigers used Victor Reyes as a pinch runner to put pressure on Bednar not to make any mistakes. He retired the next three batters on nine pitches.

“Since I got to the big leagues, that’s something that I’ve gotten more comfortable with: the running game, holding guys on and just kind of being able to reset and really take it one pitch at a time when guys are on base and there’s some traffic,” Bednar said. “You just realize you take it one out at a time, one pitch at at time. It’s really just sticking to that cliche.

“It’s something that we’ve been working on this year, being quicker to the plate, being comfortable with all my looks, picks and being better about that. Also just focusing on each batter, not getting ahead of myself. It’s, ‘OK, I’ve just got to get this guy out,’ as opposed to focusing on the next two guys. It’s just executing pitches from there.”