There is a familiarity that comes with the ninth inning now. The lights at PNC Park dim, Styx's "Renegade" starts to boom through the stadium and David Bednar begins his jog to the mound.
If you were to believe the trade deadline hype before the game, such a moment didn't seem guaranteed just a few hours prior.
Bednar was one of the biggest fish floating around trade talk pool the past few weeks. So was Mitch Keller, the team's other All-Star pitcher. The Pirates weren't keen on trading either, and Ben Cherington explained to both of them they were doing due diligence by listening to offers, not actively shopping them.
"[We] shared that we fully anticipated we’d get phone calls about them," Cherington said. "We did. Also shared with them that we’re trying to win here as fast as we possibly can. First priority would be to do that with them on the team."
The Pirates ended up making a trio of trades Tuesday, shipping out Rich Hill, Ji-Man Choi, Austin Hedges and Rodolfo Castro, but it was the two trades they didn't make that truly defined their deadline approach this year. Bednar and Keller stayed put, and the former added the punctuation to a 4-1 Pirates win over the Tigers Tuesday by getting Javier Báez to chase a curveball that dropped rather than break back into the zone:
After the 6 p.m. deadline passed, and postgame, both Bednar and Keller got to take a sigh of relief. Neither was ready to leave Pittsburgh, and they had just gotten their confirmation that they are part of the team's future plans.
“It just feels good, man," Keller said. "What we’re building here, it’s great to be a part of. I’m just excited to be here and be here for the foreseeable future.”
"I mean, obviously it's great," Bednar said postgame. "I think you guys know how I feel about being here and playing here and how fun this is gonna be when we are winning here."
Winning here. The reason why Bednar and Keller weren't dealt was because of the belief that the Pirates are close to being a contender. Close enough that Keller, who has two years of team control remaining following this season, and Bednar, three years, are going to be a part of it.
"I think everybody in here has that same goal and wants to win and has that desire, so it's good to know," Bednar said. "It's always good to hear that, but obviously in this room here, everybody wants to win day in and out."
The Pirates have won seven out of their last 11, their best stretch since winning six straight from May 30 to June 5. It's a small sample size, but it's also being driven by young players, especially rookies.
On Tuesday, Johan Oviedo led the way with seven innings of one-run ball, striking out five. Endy Rodríguez got the Pirates on the board with an RBI triple in the second, followed shortly after by a two-run homer by Liover Peguero.
That's three straight wins anchored by the youngest players on a young team that got even younger. Gone are Santana, Hill, Hedges and Choi, four veteran voices that were brought in to guide this group of players. Instead, they were traded after just several weeks with a good chunk of these rookies.
Cherington said the team considered a passive approach to the deadline and keeping the veterans to be steady hands in the clubhouse, but the opportunity to add young, controllable players won out.
"We acquired all of them this past offseason with the intent to get better," Cherington said. "We felt like they could help us get better in 2023. We hoped that would mean we’re having a different conversation today... I do believe we brought them here to help us get better, and I believe we got better, in part because of their contributions on the field and off the field. They did exactly what we hoped all four of them would do."
Hill in particular was special for the pitchers because of the amount of time he spent talking to them about pitching and becoming a major-leaguer. Oviedo would say after the game that Hill was "always taking care of me," and he wasn't the only one who felt that way.
“He’s been awesome since the first day I met him in spring training," Keller said. "He’s been open to wisdom and the experience he’s been through. He’s been on the winning teams and knows what it takes."
Those lessons from the past four months will stick, and the focus could be on the four veterans that are gone now.
But when looking at the future success of the Pirates, keeping Keller and Bednar means more.
"It means a lot," Peguero said. "They’re very talented players. As human beings they’re extremely nice. They’re people that are gonna be there to try and help you and tell you things you gotta do right, the right way. They’re big pieces on this team."
If this team is going to compete soon, it almost surely needs to have those two pitchers. It's not just Cherington who feels like that is a possibility. The rookies haven't shied away from the idea since they've come up.
And Peguero wasn't afraid to take it another step further Tuesday.
"This is something we’ve been talking about every year," Peguero said. "This team’s gonna be a championship winner. I promise you it will be very soon."
JUSTIN K. ALLER / GETTY
Miguel Cabrera is presented a painting in his final trip to PNC Park.
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
• Live file
• Team feed
• Standings
• Statistics
• Schedule
• Scoreboard
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE INJURIES
• 10-day injured list: 2B Ji Hwan Bae (ankle)
• 60-day injured list: SS Oneil Cruz (ankle), RHP JT Brubaker (elbow), LHP Jarlin Garcia (elbow), RHP Max Kranick (elbow), INF Tucupita Marcano (knee), RHP Vince Velasquez (elbow)
THE LINEUPS
Shelton's card:
1. Josh Palacios, RF
2. Bryan Reynolds, LF
3. Andrew McCutchen, DH
4. Jack Suwinski, CF
5. Connor Joe, 1B
6. Endy Rodríguez, C
7. Jared Triolo, 3B
8. Liover Peguero, 2B
9. Alika Williams, SS
And for A.J. Hinch's Tigers:
1. Zach McKinstry, 2B
2. Riley Greene, CF
3. Spencer Torkelson, 1B
4. Kerry Carpenter, RF
5. Matt Vierling, 3B
6. Javier Báez, SS
7. Miguel Cabrera, DH
8. Akil Baddoo, LF
9. Jake Rogers, C
THE SCHEDULE
The Pirates will go for the short series sweep Wednesday when Osvaldo Bido (2-1, 4.50) takes on Eduardo Rodríguez (6-5, 2.95) at 12:35 p.m. I'll have you covered.
THE MULTIMEDIA
THE ODDS
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THE CONTENT
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