David Bednar looked fired up tonight.
The Pittsburgh Pirates closer entered the 5-2 game in the ninth inning and delivered three 97 MPH fastballs to Nick Castellanos. All three went for strikes, with the last two swinging. The intensity of Bednar’s pitching stood out, in his first appearance since blowing his third save of the season. Bednar got a pop out on a 98.2 MPH fastball, and despite throwing mostly fastballs, he ended the game on a pop out on a curveball, picking up his first save of the season.
That’s the type of response you want to see from a struggling player.