Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher David Bednar. (Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports)
Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher David Bednar celebrated his epic bases-loaded save against the Chicago Cubs with a string of expletives.
The Pirates may have suffered the indignity of a 21-0 loss to the Cubs on Saturday but they came back in style on Sunday to get some revenge.
Closer David Bednar came into the ninth inning with a 4-3 lead to protect and ended up closing things out with some serious heat.
When it was all done, you could tell two things: Bednar was fired up and he really doesn’t like the Cubs.
Pirates pitcher David Bednar aims expletives at Cubs
You don’t have to be particularly good at lip reading to get what Bednar was saying there as he fist-bumped his teammates to celebrate a victory.
What brought on that moment? Bednar had good reason to be pretty fired up after he got out of a jam in the ninth. The bases were loaded and Frank Schwindel was at the plate. That’s when Bednar unleashed three-straight 97-mile-an-hour fastballs to strike the batter out.
The Pirates came away with a 3-1 series victory, improving their record over the Cubs this season to 4-2. Bednar picked up his second save of the campaign.
Bednar may feel the way he does about the Cubs because he’s faced them more often than any team in his career. In 15 appearances, he has allowed just four hits while notching 26 strikeouts. Batters are hitting .083/.154/.125 against him.
Pittsburgh gets to host Milwaukee next. Chicago is heading on the road to take on the Braves.