Pirates' David Bednar: Impressive Thursday debut

Bednar pitched a scoreless inning in a 5-3 win over the Cubs on Thursday. He struck out two without allowing a hit or walk en route to his first hold.

The righty appeared in the seventh inning to protect a 5-2 lead, ahead of Chris Stratton (eighth inning) and Rich Rodriguez (ninth inning) with Kyle Crick (personal) away from the team. Bednar's fine outing represents a carryover from his impressive spring and while he didn't close out Thursday's game, he's definitely got closer-worthy stuff.