Bucs show grit with 9th-inning rally after blowing 4-run lead

LOS ANGELES -- The Pirates could have gotten overwhelmed by the moment.

They had allowed five unanswered runs to the Dodgers. They lost their four-run lead. Dodger Stadium was rocking, shaking, swaying. They could’ve succumbed to one of baseball’s best teams on one of baseball’s brightest stages. They chose to spar.

The lead, thanks to two bold sends by third-base coach Mike Rabelo, was reclaimed. Closer David Bednar dusted himself off after blowing his first save of the season and gutted through a 50-pitch outing, the most he’s thrown in a Major League game. Pittsburgh’s 6-5 win over Los Angeles on Monday night wasn’t clean nor crisp. Rather, it was a testament to this team’s identity.

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“It really is a young, kind of gritty group,” said Bednar. “Everybody’s still trying to establish themselves, so everybody’s kind of hungry, and just really cherishes those opportunities to show that they belong. I think we’ve got a big group of guys that are like that.”

The game ended in a flurry of dramatics, but early on, the Pirates, in the words of Bednar, showed they belonged.

By the end of the second inning, Pittsburgh had raced out to a 4-0 lead, three of the runs coming off the bat of Tucupita Marcano. In just his 30th career game, Marcano hit his first career home run to put a trio of runs on the board. Some rookies opt to act like they’ve been there before, but Marcano freely expressed his emotions, flexing his body and letting out a cathartic yell.

Zach Thompson, another one of several players trying to establish himself, kept Dodger Stadium quiet, for the most part. The right-hander allowed back-to-back homers in the fifth inning, the only two runs he’d allow across 5 2/3 innings. Once Thompson exited, the Dodgers began to assert some supremacy.

Dillon Peters allowed a home run to Edwin Ríos on his first pitch of the evening in the sixth inning. The lead -- the Pirates hadn’t scored since the second -- was cut to one.

Bednar entered in the eighth. He was on for his fourth six-out save of the season. The Dodgers foiled those plans. Justin Turner doubled home the tying run. Chris Taylor drove in the go-ahead run with a bloop single that seemed to hang in the Los Angeles air for ages.

“Definitely came in the dugout just incredibly frustrated,” Bednar said.

Bednar had to flush those emotions quickly. He’d have another lead to protect in short order.

Diego Castillo drew an eight-pitch walk off Craig Kimbrel. He advanced to second on a wild pitch. The Pirates had their chance.

Michael Perez, who entered his plate appearance in the ninth inning hitting just .093, pulled a soft line drive into right field. Castillo was waved home by Rabelo; they were testing the right arm of Mookie Betts, one of the best in baseball.

The throw was on point, as they tend to be with Betts. Castillo arrived at home plate just a little faster. Perez advanced to second on the throw, then was subbed out for Michael Chavis. Tie game.

Chavis wouldn’t be stuck on second for long. Cal Mitchell pulled a ground ball slightly to the left of Freddie Freeman. It was plenty playable. Freeman booted the ball, which rolled into right field. Rabelo, too, sent Chavis. Hanser Alberto sprinted after the ball, retrieved it, turned and fired toward home. Chavis’ slide wasn’t the cleanest, but he, too, was safe. The lead was back.

The lead was soon threatened yet again. Betts, who already had a homer, hit an opposite-field ground-rule double. Freeman drew a walk. Los Angeles had runners on first and second with one out for Trea Turner and Will Smith. Bednar was facing the possibility of blowing two leads in one outing. He hunkered down.

Bednar got Turner to fly out, then struck out Smith. Game over. Win secured.

"We kept battling back,” said manager Derek Shelton, who won his 100th career game. “Give a ton of credit to our group.”

This wasn’t how the Pirates drew it up. They would’ve rather coasted to a wire-to-wire win. Bednar said, unsurprisingly, that he would’ve liked to have retired the side in order. This win, though, was an exhibition of Pittsburgh’s willingness to scrap. That speaks volumes more than the clean-cut win.

“Whenever things are going well, it’s easy,” Bednar said. “That’s the thing personally that I was most proud of, just going back out there and having that gritty outing and ultimately coming up with the win.”