The Pirates placed Bednar on the 15-day injured list Sunday with a strained left oblique, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.
Bednar reported feeling tightness in his side during his throwing session before Saturday's contest against the Rays and wasn't available to pitch in the game. His injury was initially believed to be relatively minor, so it's possible the 29-year-old reliever will be able to return after a minimum-length stay on the IL. Until then, Aroldis Chapman will likely see the majority of save opportunities, and Justin Bruihl will come up from Triple-A to replenish the Pirates' bullpen depth.
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Pirates' David Bednar: Wasn't available Saturday
Rotowire
Bednar was unavailable for Saturday's 4-3 win over the Rays due to left side tightness, Andrew Destin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
Bednar missed out on a save chance Saturday as Aroldis Chapman stepped up in the ninth to close out the win. Bednar's absence was planned after he felt the tightness during his pregame throwing program, but the injury isn't considered to be serious at this point. If he ends up missing more than just Saturday's game, expect Chapman to continue to see save chances.
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Pirates' David Bednar: Locks down 16th save
Rotowire
Bednar earned the save Wednesday against the Reds, pitching a perfect ninth inning to seal a 1-0 victory.
It's the second straight hitless appearance from Bednar after he allowed home runs in each of his previous two outings. Still, the right-hander has been solid of late following a rocky start to the campaign, allowing just three runs in his last 17.1 innings. Overall, Bednar's converted 16 of 19 save opportunities this year while pitching to a 5.17 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 32:7 K:BB across 31.1 innings.
Bednar pitched a perfect ninth inning to pick up the save against the Reds in Monday's 4-1 win.
After serving up homers in each of his last two appearances, Bednar got back on track with a clean frame Monday. Bednar had a disastrous start to the season with 14 earned runs allowed in his first 13 outings, but he's turned it around with a 1.88 ERA over his last 19.1 innings. Despite the 5.34 ERA for the season, Bednar remains one of the better late-inning options, as his 15 saves are tied for eighth most in the majors.
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Pirates' David Bednar: Serves up homer
Rotowire
Bednar allowed one earned run on one hit while striking out one Friday against the Rockies.
Bednar was called upon to preserve a 5-1 lead in the ninth inning. He retired the first two batters he faced without issue but then served up a solo home run to Charlie Blackmon. Bednar has now given up a home run in consecutive appearances, though the Pirates still won on both occasions.
Bednar picked up the save Tuesday against St. Louis, allowing a solo home run and a walk with two strikeouts during the ninth inning.
Bednar took the mound with the Pirates ahead by two and yielded a homer to Nolan Gorman to kick off the ninth. While he retired Nolan Arenado and Brendan Donovan back-to-back, Bednar walked Jose Fermin and a catcher's interference put runners on first and second. However, Bednar avoided disaster, striking out Mike Siani to complete his 14th save. Although he owns a 5.40 ERA, Bednar ranks eighth in saves and owns a 30:7 K:BB across 28.1 innings.
