Braves rally with 3 runs in 9th off David Bednar to beat Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates had a one-run lead over the Atlanta Braves with one out in the ninth inning, a situation custom-made for two-time All-Star closer David Bednar to put the finishing touches on a victory.

The Braves began a three-run rally, tying the game on Kevin Pillar’s RBI single followed by Orlando Arcia’s two-run double down the left field line for an 8-6 comeback victory Tuesday night before 15,583 at PNC Park.

It was Bednar’s second blown save in four days, one that had the Renegade regretting how the game ended in defeat.

“Not being able to get two outs, then with one out to go, not getting it done, then also not keeping it a tie game — that’s incredibly frustrating,” Bednar said. “That’s just baseball but, honestly, the most frustrating part is the guys played well enough to win and couldn’t get it done. Especially with two outs, it’s unacceptable and very frustrating.”

The Pirates took a 6-5 lead into the ninth on the strength of four home runs, a three-run blast by Ke’Bryan Hayes in the first inning and solo shots by Alfonso Rivas, Josh Palacios and Bryan Reynolds.

Bednar got Austin Riley to fly out to right for the first out before Matt Olson drew a one-out walk. Travis d’Arnaud hit his third double of the game, off Hayes’ glove at third base and into left field. Bednar got Marcell Ozuna to hit a sharp grounder to Hayes, who threw to catcher Jason Delay, who chased Olson down for the second out.

But Pillar singled to left to score pinch runner Nicky Lopez for the tying run, and Arcia drilled a hanging curveball down the left field line for a two-run double that gave the Braves a two-run lead. The Pirates put two runners on with two outs in the bottom of the ninth on a Reynolds single and Andrew McCutchen walk, but Jack Suwinski hit a comebacker to Braves closer Raisel Iglesias to end the game.

It was the fourth outing in five days for Bednar, who earned his 23rd save in Monday’s 7-6 win over the Braves in the opener of the four-game series but blew his first save opportunity since April 11 in Saturday’s 3-2 loss at Milwaukee. Not that the Pirates have lost confidence in him.

“There’s no doubt in our minds that he’s gonna be fine,” Pirates starter and fellow All-Star Mitch Keller said of Bednar. “Two-time All-Star. I mean, he’s got like a sub-2.00 ERA. He’s nails. He’s always been great. There’s no doubt in any of our minds in here when the ninth inning comes around and he gets the ball that he’s gonna seal the deal. So, yeah, if he’s back out there tomorrow, I have 100% confidence that he’s going to get it done.”

Pirates manager Derek Shelton said fatigue wasn’t a factor for Bednar, whose fastball averaged 97.6 mph, per Statcast, and touched 98.5. Instead, Shelton blamed it on “leaving balls in bad locations” and “lack of execution.”

“The fatigue would have concerned me,” Shelton said. “I mean, he was 97-98. Normally when you see fatigue, if we would have seen 94, 95, that would be one of the concerns there. But it was more execution because the velocity was there.”

Keller left his second pitch of the game in a bad location as well, and Ronald Acuna Jr. drove it 448 feet to left and over the North Side Notch for his 26th home run to give the Braves a 1-0 lead. It was Acuna’s fifth leadoff homer of the season and the 31st of the 25-year-old outfielder’s career.

Keller allowed three runs on nine hits and four strikeouts without a walk in five innings, marking only his second start of five since the All-Star break that he gave up three runs or fewer.

The Braves entered with an MLB-best 214 homers – 33 more than the Los Angeles Dodgers, who rank second – and added a pair of solo shots from Acuna and Arcia to increase the total. But the Pirates, who ranked 23rd with 111 home runs, answered with four homers.

“That’s a tough game to lose because we swung the bats really well the last two days,” Shelton said. “We’ve continued to put pressure on them. We get ourselves with a lead in the ninth, and I think that’s what we’re looking to do. We’re trying to do that every night.”

The Braves’ 1-0 lead didn’t last long, as Reynolds and McCutchen drew back-to-back walks from starter Yonny Chirinos before Hayes sent a first-pitch splitter 413 feet to left for a two-out, three-run home run and a 3-1 Pirates lead.

The Braves tied it at 3-3 in the third on d’Arnaud’s double to the Notch to score Ozzie Albies and Olson. They had a chance to take the lead in the fourth, with Michael Harris on third base with two outs, when Palacios made the most entertaining catch of the season.

Palacios tracked Riley’s fly ball in foul territory, leaning over the short wall to make the catch and then doing a cartwheel. Palacios landed on his feet and hopped over the wall, smiling as he held his glove high to show that he had caught the ball.

“That was pretty impressive, pretty damn good play out there,” Keller said. “Huge play for the situation we were in there.”

Where Palacios saved a run, Rivas delivered one. He worked a full count against Chirinos before crushing a sinker over the middle 419 feet to the hedges in straightaway center for a solo homer and a 4-3 Pirates lead in the fourth.

Palacios and Reynolds opened the fifth with solo shots to mark the 10th time the Pirates have hit back-to-back homers, their most since 2003. Palacios sent an 0-1 splitter 388 feet into the right field seats, and Reynolds followed by smacking a first-pitch sinker 426 feet to center for his fifth homer in the past 15 games and 15th of the season.

The Braves answered when Arcia hit a solo shot off lefty Ryan Borucki to cut it to 6-4. Borucki was pulled after walking Harris, and Colin Holderman drilled Acuna in the left elbow with a pitch, causing the Braves star to slam his bat and helmet to the ground out of frustration. Acuna was removed from the game to have his elbow examined, and X-rays were negative.

Holderman walked Riley to load the bases with two outs for Olson, who drew a walk to score Harris for his league-leading 100th RBI and cut it to 6-5. Holderman got d’Arnaud to pop out to shallow right to escape the jam.

Pirates right-hander Andre Jackson protected the lead by pitching a pair of perfect innings in the seventh and eighth, striking out four of the six Braves batters he faced for his second consecutive impressive performance in relief.

That’s when the Pirates turned to Bednar, only for the Braves to rally for the win. That doesn’t change how the Pirates perceive Bednar, or their expectations of him when the game gets to save situations.

“David is a savage,” Palacios said. “He’s going to shake it off, for sure. This is baseball. It goes up, it goes down. Nobody has a zero ERA in the league. Things happen. He’s an All-Star. He’s the best closer in the game, in my opinion. He’s going to bounce back from this with ease.”