David Bednar shows why he should be Yankees' new closer: ‘Dawg effort'

New York Times

2 days ago

ARLINGTON, Texas — Aaron Boone wasn't going to do it. The New York Yankees' manager left the dugout intending to remove reliever David Bednar, who was struggling and had already thrown a season-high 35 pitches. But when Boone reached the mound, he looked Bednar in the eyes.
'I'm going to take you here,' Boone said.
Advertisement
'No,' Bednar said, 'you're not.'
'You sure?'
'Let's go. I got this guy.'
It was all Boone needed to hear.
As he left the mound, the Yankees infielders surrounding Bednar were fired up. Shortstop Anthony Volpe pounded his glove and yelled. It worked.
Bednar worked Adolis García to a 2-2 count and then forced him to swing over a splitter near the bottom of the zone and over the plate. It was a clutch five-out save for Bednar, and for the Yankees, it was a 3-2 win over the Rangers at Globe Life Field, snapping their five-game losing streak and freeing them from a general malaise that appeared to be hanging over the club.
And it signaled to the Yankees that they should seriously consider giving the ninth inning to Bednar for the rest of the season.
'That's a dawg effort right there,' Boone said.
'That was awesome,' first baseman Paul Goldschmidt said.
'Takes some grit to finish it off,' starting pitcher Carlos Rodón said.
Yankees Win 🚨 Postgame coming up next on YES and The Gotham Sports App: https://t.co/sWMqNZ0hci pic.twitter.com/bJ7Qo6iqg8
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) August 6, 2025
The victory meant the third-place Yankees would remain 6 1/2 games back of the first-place Toronto Blue Jays in the American League East. Perhaps more importantly, it put the Yankees 1 1/2 games ahead of the Rangers for the third and final wild-card position.
'It's obviously one game,' Boone said. 'We've got to dig ourselves out here. But as I've said, it's there for us. We've got to go take this thing. I'm steadfast that I believe that we've got a great run in us. (I) believe in those guys in the room. But as we've been saying kind of everyday, right, we've got to go do it. This is just one win, definitely a little settling going into an off day, but we start a big home stand where we've got to (put the) pedal down.'
Advertisement
It also came after the Yankees watched Devin Williams — whom they hoped would finally seize the job — crumble in consecutive losses in Arlington. On Monday, Williams gave up a solo homer to blow a save and a one-run lead in the ninth inning. On Tuesday, he failed to protect a scoreless tie in the eighth inning, giving up two runs as the Yankees lost 2-0.
The Yankees acquired a trio of the relievers at the deadline, two of which with previous closer experience in Bednar and Camilo Doval. The moves were clear signs in the Yankees' shaky confidence in the bullpen in general, but also in Williams, who lost the role earlier in the year to Luke Weaver only for the Yankees to give it back to him when Weaver went on the injured list.
Williams, one of the best relievers in the National League the last few years, has a 5.44 ERA in 47 games.
Bednar, meanwhile, had a 2.37 ERA and 17 saves in 42 appearances with the Pittsburgh Pirates before the Yankees traded for him at the deadline Thursday, and before he gave up two runs in his first appearance in his first day with the team Friday. Bednar bounced back with a scoreless frame Monday vs. the Rangers. He struggled in 2024, but he led the league with 39 saves in 2023. The job wouldn't be new to him.
All five of Bednar's outs came via strikeout Wednesday. His 42 pitches were the most he'd thrown in a game since 2022. The five-out save was his first since 2023.
Bednar fanned ex-Yankees Kyle Higashioka and Josh Smith in the eighth, and in the ninth, he struck out Rowdy Tellez and Sam Haggerty. Then he narrowly walked Corey Seager on a breaking ball that just missed the plate, and then Marcus Semien singled to right field.
Meanwhile, in the bullpen, Doval was warming up. Boone didn't want to use him, since he had pitched in the previous two games. But he was getting desperate, having already used Mark Leiter Jr., Tim Hill and Yerry De Los Santos after Rodón lasted five innings, giving up two runs.
Advertisement
Bednar said he didn't even see Boone leave the dugout. He saw catcher Ben Rice walking toward the mound for what he thought would be a visit to prepare for García. He was straightforward with Boone.
'I told him I wanted (García), and he agreed, and I just wanted to bear down and get that last one,' Bednar said.
Though Boone intended to pull Bednar, after the game, he suspected that maybe in his heart he wanted Bednar to possibly make him change his mind. After all, he didn't signal to the bullpen immediately upon leaving the dugout. He let Bednar have a word.
'I mean, that's fair,' Boone said. 'So I was going out to make the move, but you're right. I didn't go right to it right away. So, maybe I did want to get a little feel from him.'
Boone trusted Bednar with the game on the line. He should do it again the next time there's a save opportunity.
Spot the pattern. Connect the terms
Find the hidden link between sports terms
Play today's puzzle