Pirates' David Bednar stumbles again, allowing Marlins to win on a wild pitch

Noah Hiles, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Mar 30, 2025

Published in Baseball

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MIAMI — An ugly opening series ended with another tough loss for the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday afternoon, as they fell by a final score of 3-2 to the Miami Marlins at loanDepot park. The game-winning run was scored in the bottom of the ninth inning, on a wild pitch thrown by David Bednar. Bednar was the game’s losing pitcher, while Anthony Bender earned the win.

Andrew McCutchen put the Pirates ahead in the top of the second inning with a solo homer to left field off Marlins starter Max Meyer. The Marlins, however, responded quickly in the bottom half of the frame, as an RBI double from Nick Fortes tied the game at one.

Derek Shelton’s club made the most of a Miami mistake in the top of the fifth inning, allowing it to retake the lead. The blunder occurred on a ground ball hit down the first base line by Enmanuel Valdez. Marlins first baseman Eric Wagaman, after fielding the ball cleanly and stepping on the first base bag, delivered a throw to second base with the hopes to double-up Endy Rodriguez.

Wagaman’s throw instead nailed the Pirates’ catcher in the back and then bounced into center field, allowing him to advance to third. Isiah Kiner-Falefa brought Rodriguez home the following at-bat on an RBI infield single, making the score 2-1.

That lead held until the bottom of the seventh inning, when Griffin Conine tagged Colin Holderman for a two-out, solo homer that tied the game at two. The homer came on the same day Conine’s father, Jeff Conine, was enshrined in the Marlins team Hall of Fame, before first pitch.

Pittsburgh developed a chance to retake the lead in the top of the eighth, but a series of poor base running decisions by Ji-Hwan Bae — who was selected to pinch run for Andrew McCutchen — brought a premature end to the frame. The speedster was tagged out trying to advance to third base on a pitch in the dirt, due to a late jump. The Pirates ended the ninth inning on the bases as well, as Rodriguez was caught stealing to end the frame.

The game was over when: Derek Hill led off the bottom of the ninth by reaching on an infield single to third base. He then stole second base and advanced to third on a wild throw from Rodriguez, which sailed into center field. He completed his trip around the bases not long after, scoring on a wild pitch.

On the mound: Despite a rough showing throughout spring training, Andrew Heaney looked solid in his Pirates debut, throwing five innings of one-run ball. Heaney scattered four hits and a walk throughout his outing. He struck out a pair of batters, while getting the majority of his outs via ground ball. The southpaw threw 79 pitches, 55 for strikes.

Heaney’s outing concluded with the best defensive play of the game. With the tying run on second and two outs, Otto Lopez roped a ball into the right-center gap that looked to be destined for extra-bases. However, right fielder Bryan Reynolds tracked the ball down at the last second, making a diving catch to end the frame and maintain Pittsburgh’s 2-1 lead.

At the plate: McCutchen’s home run was a no-doubter, traveling 393 feet to left field with an exit velocity of 103.4 mph. The blast came on a 1-2 fastball located on the high, inside corner of the strike zone. The homer was McCutchen’s 800th extra-base hit in his 17-year big-league career.

Most valuable player: Derek Hill, who scored the game winning run.

Up next: The Pirates will now head north to Tampa Bay, where they will take on the Rays in a three game road series at George Steinbrenner Field that begins Monday at 7:05 p.m. ET. Right-hander Carmen Mlodzinski will face right-hander Drew Rasmussen on the mound.

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