Dennis Santana plans to 'turn the page' after early struggles as Pirates' new closer

Dennis Santana had blown a save for the second time in three appearances, surrendering two earned runs in the ninth inning of a 4-2 loss to the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday afternoon.

That it came only five days after a disastrous outing in Colorado where the Pittsburgh Pirates right-handed reliever gave up five earned runs in the ninth inning of a 17-16 loss to the team with baseball’s worst record didn’t shake his confidence or cause him to lose composure.

“It’s been tough lately since Colorado — but any time you have a tough time … the first half was incredible, so I know that they got the player who had six months without giving up many runs,” Santana said.

It’s startling to see Santana scuffle, given that the 29-year-old Dominican has allowed as many earned runs in three games in August (seven) as he did in his first 46 appearances this season.

With a wicked slider, Santana had been one of the most effective relievers in the game leading into the July 31 MLB trade deadline. When the Pirates opted to trade two-time All-Star closer David Bednar and keep Santana, it forced him to fill the ninth-inning role.

“This is the first time I’ve been in that spot,” Santana said. “After I saw the news, I felt sorry because Bednar was my boy. He’s a nice guy, he speaks Spanish sometimes, and I’m going to miss him. It’s tough when you’ve got the same crew for one year and then you’ve got the day off and the next day you go to the field and there’s three or four of your teammates missing.”

Santana shined in such situations in April when Bednar was demoted to the minors. Santana posted a 1.64 ERA and had three saves and three holds in 11 appearances during the month, bolstering the belief that he could handle high-leverage opportunities.

“There’s no pressure,” Santana said. “I like the pressure.”

Santana’s success this season wasn’t sudden. After the Pirates claimed him off waivers from the New York Yankees last June, he was shelled in his second appearance. Santana gave up six earned runs on four hits — including two doubles, a triple and a Michael Toglia grand slam — in the eighth inning of a 16-4 loss at the Rockies. Over his final 37 appearances, Santana allowed only six earned runs.

So he was able to get over the ninth-inning collapse in Colorado last weekend rather quickly. In fact, Santana pitched a scoreless final inning in Sunday’s 9-5 win over the Rockies.

“You’ve got to have a quick mind, whatever happens,” Santana said, snapping his fingers. “Flip it over, and you’re going to have an opportunity. Just turn the page.”

On Wednesday, the Pirates sought a five-out save from Santana, who was pitching on two days of rest. He inherited loaded bases upon relieving Isaac Mattson with one out in the eighth. Santana gave up a sacrifice fly to Matt Chapman that tied the score at 2-2 before getting Casey Schmitt to fly out to right to end the frame.

“That’s asking a lot, for him to come in and get five outs,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said. “Just hoping to get a ground ball right there, to maybe get out of that inning with one pitch.”

Instead, it required seven. In the ninth, Santana threw 15 more. He got pinch hitter Grant McCray to fly out to the warning track in center for the first out. But Jung Hoo Lee and Dominic Smith hit back-to-back doubles, giving the Giants the lead, and Patrick Bailey followed with an RBI single for a two-run advantage. After Santana got Heliot Ramos to fly out to center, lefty Ryan Borucki replaced him to record the final out.

Santana refused to use the multiple innings as an excuse.

“I’ve been used to those, sometimes one, one-plus,” Santana said. “It’s just a tough time, like I said earlier. We’re going to get through that.”

Kelly said Santana would get the “bulk of the opportunities” in the ninth inning over the final two months. To Santana, the key is to stay the same. He knows that he can’t duplicate what Bednar did, converting 17 of 17 save opportunities for the Pirates this season, but he isn’t shying away from filling the leadership void or taking the ball in the ninth.

“He’s earned that, the way that he’s thrown,” Kelly said. “There may be times that he comes in in the eighth inning to put a fire out and maybe he doesn’t go back out for the ninth, just depending on workload and where he was at.”

Santana is trying to treat closing out games the same way he did pitching in earlier leverage innings: It’s about getting three outs with minimal damage. He’s not ready to call himself the closer, but Santana did promise that he will find a way to return to form.

“I don’t know if I’m going to be the ninth-inning guy,” Santana said, “but I know I’m going to get out of the situation I’m in now and keep doing what I was doing.”