In a big week for Mars' Bednar brothers, Pirates reliever gets 1st major league win
David Bednar got the post-game shower — a mixture of baby powder, beer, pop and anything else the Pittsburgh Pirates could find in their home clubhouse — but knew his celebration would be short-lived.
After earning the first win of his major league career in a 6-3 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night at PNC Park, the Pirates reliever didn’t have much time for anything other than ice cream because of a scheduled 12:35 p.m. start on Wednesday.
It was an indescribable moment for the Mars native, a 2016 35th-round pick out of Lafayette who was acquired by the Pirates in January from the San Diego Padres as part of the Joe Musgrove trade.
“Honestly, you really can’t,” Bednar said. “Coming to games growing up, it was always just fun. I always had big aspirations to play here but never in my wildest dreams that it would actually come true. Just beyond blessed to have the opportunity I have right now.”
It’s been a week of incredible firsts for the Bednar family. His brother, Will, a redshirt freshman pitcher at Mississippi State, had 15 strikeouts in a 2-1 win over Texas on Sunday night in the College World Series. Both Bednars were coached at Mars by their father, Andy, who has been living a baseball dad’s ultimate dream since Father’s Day.
“I can’t imagine. I know he was just beyond fired up watching my brother go at it the other day,” David Bednar said. “My whole family was. They were just beyond ecstatic for him. I know I was cheering just as loud from over here, so to see him have the success he’s having was awesome. Just unbelievable.”
So, David Bednar wasn’t even upset that his parents were in Omaha, Neb., and missed his first major league win. Despite their competitive nature, he even gave his little brother — a right-hander who is expected to be selected in the first few rounds of the MLB Draft next month — the edge on the magnitude of the win.
“I think if they were to miss a game, this would be the one reason they were OK with,” Bednar said. “They’re definitely having an awesome time out there. … I think my brother takes the cake on that one. That was fun to watch.”
Not only did Will Bednar combine with Landon Sims to set a CWS record for most strikeouts (21), but his 15 whiffs were the most since former Pirates No. 1 overall pick Kris Benson had that many against Miami in the 1996 CWS.
Daivd Bednar (1-1) got the opportunity for his first MLB win after Tyler Anderson gave up a three-run home run to Yasmani Grandal in the seventh inning, turning a 2-0 lead into a 3-2 deficit, then walked Danny Mendick. The Pirates played his entrance song, the Steelers anthem and Styx hit “Renegade,” as he was called in from the bullpen.
“Every time Bednar comes in, you saw it, it’s good to see him. Great guy, great mood all the time. So you want to see him do well all the time,” Anderson said. “Obviously, he comes in, did a good job and was able to get a W out of that, which is awesome — especially (in his) hometown, doing it here was pretty cool, too.”
When the White Sox went with pinch hitter Yermin Mercedes, Bednar went on the attack. He threw a pair of fastballs to get ahead for an 0-2 count, then two pitches for balls. Mercedes singled to right field, but Bednar got Tim Anderson to ground into a fielder’s choice to end the inning.
“He goes right after guys,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “I think that’s something that we talk about: learning moments and growth. We’re starting to see this guy grow before our eyes.
“It’s really cool to see the first big league win, home ballpark. That’s pretty special. It’s been a pretty good week for the Bednar family so far. His brother won a College World Series game the other day, he gets his first win today. So he probably the second-least disappointed person that they’re wasting beers on in a beer shower besides me.”
Kevin Gorman is a TribLive reporter covering the Pirates. A Baldwin native and Penn State graduate, he joined the Trib in 1999 and has covered high school sports, Pitt football and basketball and was a sports columnist for 10 years. He can be reached at kgorman@triblive.com.
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