Dennis Santana News: Notches fifth save

Santana struck out two in a perfect ninth inning Wednesday to record his fifth save of the season in a 3-1 win over the Reds.

David Bednar worked Monday and Tuesday and collected the save in the latter game, leaving him unavailable Wednesday afternoon. Santana also worked the eighth inning Tuesday but was still fresh enough to remain a perfect 5-for-5 in converting save chances this season. Bednar appears to have inched back ahead in the pecking order for the Pirates' closer job, but Santana's 1.77 ERA, 0.79 WHIP and 13:3 K:BB through 20.1 innings on the year will keep him firmly in the high-leverage mix.