The Pittsburgh Pirates held an 3-1 lead over the Detroit Tigers heading into the ninth inning this afternoon.

Starter Marin Pérez had given the Pirates a stellar outing. He went 8.0 innings, striking out 7 batters and issuing no walks as he allowed just a solo run in the first inning.

The Pirates, off the back of two home runs by Edward Olivares, were comfortably in control when David Bednar took to the mound to finish things off in the top of the ninth.

Unfortunately, instead of finishing off the Tigers, he finished off his own team. Bednar allowed 4 runs in a miserable outing for the Pirates, handing off a 3-1 lead for a 5-3 deficit.

The Renegade got into trouble early when he walked the first batter he faced, then plunked the second to give the Tigers some momentum. Detroit’s Gio Urshela then hit a single to center field, and after a throwing error by center fielder Michael A. Taylor, the game was suddenly tied 3-3.

Bednar continued to get into trouble, hitting another batter and surrendering another 2 runs before the Pirates replaced him with Roansy Contreras, who got the final outs needed.

Bednar looked completely out of control in his pitches in this game. It wasn’t for a lack of speed, but his command was badly off. With every pitch you began to get more and more concerned as he routinely missed the strike zone, or threw a pitch too easy to hit.

The Pirates got a few base hits in the bottom of the ninth, but a double play essentially killed their chances, and the Tigers celebrated a 5-3 win.

For Bednar, it was his third blown save of the season. It’s April 9th.

It’s not often you hear the hometown kid get booed, but those birds were out there today. This isn’t like him.

Bednar now has a 12.46 ERA on the season in 4.1 innings pitched (5 games). He gave up only 15 earned runs all season last year in 67.1 innings pitched. He is already at 6 this season.

Last season, he saved 39 games (leading the National League) in 42 opportunities. Now with his third blown save of this season, there is serious concern about his abilities.

It’s very possible that Bednar is still dealing with injury. He suffered from right lat tightness during the majority of spring training, which limited him to just 2.0 innings pitched in Florida during the Pirates’ time there.

He wasn’t fully healthy enough to participate in Pittsburgh’s season opener vs Miami, even as the game went into 12 innings and the Pirates had to search deep within their bullpen.

If that is the case, it would be malpractice by the organization to keep him active any longer, especially if this is the type of result they are going to get from him.

With many talented arms in the bullpen for the Pirates, they would be wise to move Bednar to the Injured List while he figures things out, and I do suspect an IL stint is coming for the 29-year old.

If instead he is somehow healthy, and this is just a string of really poor play, he needs to be removed from the closer’s spot immediately. As previously mentioned, there is a lot of talent in Pittsburgh’s bullpen, and any number of guys would be better suited as the closer.

Aroldis Chapman is the most likely to take over in either case (whether Bednar is hurt or just struggling). The Cuban Missile has years of experience being one of the best closers in Major League Baseball, and his early days in Pittsburgh, usually as the eighth inning set-up man, indicate the 36-year old hasn’t missed a beat.

Chapman, who is sporting a 0.00 ERA in 4.1 innings pitched, has the stat line that we usually expect from Bednar – possibly even better.

Chapman has struck out over half the batters he has faced so far, and is still capable of topping over 100 miles per hour in his pitches. He should have no problem shifting to closer if need be, and with Colin Holderman and Carmen Mlodzinski soon to be back from the Injured List, they can pick up some of the work in the other innings vacated by Chapman.

I have to believe that Bednar is injured. The back to back All Star was outstanding last year, with a 2.00 ERA and 80 strikeouts. Sure, he was due for a bit of a regression from that, but this is far more than just a regression. This is just bad.

To his credit, Bednar seems to be taking these struggles to heart. A distraught Bednar, with his hood over his head and his hat covering most of his face, was caught by Sportsnet Pittsburgh’s broadcast of the game. He clearly is very frustrated with himself.

But things have to change in the meantime. Bednar has experienced enough success in Pittsburgh to deserve more time before he is written off, but it’s clear that something is wrong with him right now and he needs time and space, away from game action, to figure it out.

Late game heroics and walk offs are not sustainable for the Pirates, as they learned today when they could not overcome a blown save by Bednar.

(Featured photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)