With David Bednar on injured list, Pirates bullpen gets new look

For the next two weeks, the game changes dramatically for the Pittsburgh Pirates and their bullpen.

Two-time All-Star closer David Bednar was placed on the 15-day injured list Sunday (retroactive to June 20) with a strained left oblique muscle, lifting at least three relief pitchers — Colin Holderman, Aroldis Chapman and, possibly, Kyle Nicolas — into high-leverage roles while the Pirates try to stay in contention for a National League wild-card berth.

It will be interesting and instructive to see how those three pitchers — all in different stages of their big-league careers — are used and how they handle the pressure in tight games.

• Holderman, acquired two years ago in a trade that sent the long-forgotten Daniel Vogelbach to the New York Mets, has only two career saves (last year with the Pirates). But he had been reliable all season before hitting a rough inning Sunday in the Pirates’ 3-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays at PNC Park.

“I hope we don’t skip a beat,” said Holderman, who allowed his first two earned runs since May 31 (a total of nine clean outings) in the eighth inning of a tie game Sunday. “That’s just what we do. Next man up. I hope to pick up the slack while he’s gone and get (Bednar) back here soon and keep rolling.”

• Chapman, 36, is No. 3 among active MLB relief pitchers with 323 career saves, behind only the Boston Red Sox’s Kenley Jansen and the Baltimore Orioles’ Craig Kimbrel. Chapman has two saves this season — he recorded his second Saturday against the Rays — but he primarily has pitched in a setup role for Bednar. Chapman and Holderman each have 13 holds this season.

“We’re sad that Bednar is out,” Chapman said after the game Sunday through interpreter Stephen Morales, a Pirates coach. “Hopefully, he’ll get back quick. We’re ready for whatever comes our way, and the most important thing is for us to win games.”

• Nicolas, a 25-year-old rookie, pitched a three-up, three-down ninth inning Sunday with the Pirates behind by two runs. His next save will be his first in the majors after earning three in Triple-A. This season, he is 0-1 with a 5.41 ERA, 28 strikeouts and 11 walks in 21 innings.

“You use the adrenaline to your advantage,” he said of how he approaches tense situations. “Take deep breaths so you don’t get too amped up. Adrenaline is a good thing, and it’s good to use that for positive.”

The only opinion that matters will be that of manager Derek Shelton, who must figure out who to use — and when — in close games. He said he will be employ Chapman, the left-hander, and Holderman, the right-hander, situationally.

“We have two guys in the back with Holderman and Chapman that can both do it,” he said. “(Saturday), we got a stretch where we liked Holdy at (a scoreless eighth inning). We had a stretch (Sunday) where we liked Holdy at. I think we can go back and forth with it.”

Said Chapman: “Whatever they feel like my role should be that day, I’m going to be ready.”

Asked about using Nicolas in high-leverage innings, Shelton said, “Yeah, he’ll get different opportunities now. He’s pitched his way into different opportunities. Sometimes that comes by how you pitch, which he’s pitched better as of late, and sometimes that comes with the fact that we have our closer on the IL.”

Said Nicolas: “I’ll be ready for any situation they put me in. I’ve pitched in a lot of leverage situations in Triple-A. It’s fun going out there in meaningful innings, but I’ll pitch wherever they want me. I try to treat every inning I go in as a high-leverage situation, just grind them out for zeros. We take a lot of pride in being able to go shut down games, and we have the guys to do it.”

Although he gave up two runs and was tagged with his first loss of the season Sunday, Holderman showed the requisite maturity all high-leverage, big-league relief pitchers need when approached by reporters after the game.

“At the end of the day, the majority (of outings) have been pretty good,” he said. “So, I’m just going to try to keep going with the flow and keep rolling, try not to let this affect me, really, at all.”

He allowed three hits, including Josh Lowe’s 90.7 mph roller into right field, and a sacrifice fly that gave the Rays all the edge they needed.

“They got some momentum there in the inning. I tried shutting it down,” Holderman said, “but they made good swings. At the end of the day, I’m not too frustrated about it. I’m just going to move onto the next one.”

Shelton appeared to put more weight on Holderman’s previous nine outings than what happened Sunday.

“It looked like he was in the middle of the plate a little bit,” the manager said. “I think going back to the ball that Lowe kind of rolled through, that’s a two-strike pitch. That ball’s a step one way or the other we get a double play.

“But he’s been so good and so consistent it was just a little blip in what he’s done this season.”

Holderman appears eager to share the load with Chapman.

“You try to get the best matchup,” he said. “It also helps to have one of the best closers of all time in the bullpen with us.”