PITTSBURGH – With a short bullpen entering Thursday night’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirates manager Don Kelly turned to Colin Holderman in the biggest moment of the game.
The Pirates entered the ninth inning three outs away from sweeping the reigning World Series champion Dodgers at PNC Park for the first time in a decade. But a five-run lead was cut down to three after Los Angeles struck for a pair against right-handed reliever Dauri Moreta.
Mookie Betts led off the inning with a solo shot to left. Four batters later, Andy Pages drove in a run and set the Dodgers up with men on first and second on an infield single with one out.
With the tying run coming to the plate, Kelly climbed the dugout steps and made the sign for a pitching change. Holderman trotted in from the bullpen door built into the fence in left-center field looking to record the final two outs.
Though Holderman allowed one of his two inherited runners to score, he sealed the 5-3 win and earned his first save since Aug. 10, 2023 against the Atlanta Braves.
“It felt like everything was clicking,” Holderamn said following the win. “I wish I didn’t allow that single to Rojas and give up one of Moreta’s runs, but we got the job done. And that’s all you can ask for.”
The right-hander quickly retired Hyeseong Kim on a line out to left field. But Miguel Rojas followed with an RBI single and stood at first base as the tying run with Pages on second.
Ben Rortvedt, who entered the game in the bottom of the eighth for Dalton Rushing, stepped into the left-handed batter’s box as the potential go-ahead run. There was no messing around for Holderman, who struck out the Dodgers’ catcher on three pitches.
“He made great pitches, came in and got right after them. Really proud of him in that moment,” said Kelly. “There’s a lot of pressure on that. He comes in, he’s got three guys to get two outs before it rolls back over to the top. He did a tremendous job.”
The dramatic final frame could’ve become even more so had Rortvedt reached. Standing in the on-deck circle was reigning National League MVP Shohei Ohtani, who is third in baseball with 46 home runs.
Holderman didn’t want to give him a chance
“I’m not gonna lie, I did look on deck and I saw Shohei,” he said. “I’ve had some good battles with him and you just never know what can happen. I’d rather not leave the fate of this game in his hands.”
Thursday night marked the highpoint in an otherwise challenging season. The 29-year-old has dealt with some difficult results, a couple stints on the injured list and a prolonged stay in Triple-A Indianapolis to get back on track.
Holderman posted a 3.16 ERA with the Pirates last year but entered Thursday’s game with a 7.89 ERA through 20 appearances in 2025. He was recalled by the Pirates on Aug. 15 after spending five weeks in Indianapolis.
It wasn’t long ago that the Pirates counted on Holderman in high-leverage spots. After trying everything to get him back on track, they tasked him with handling arguably the highest-leverage situation of the season. Holderman delivered.
“It’s definitely been the hardest year of baseball that I’ve ever had,” he explained. “I went through a couple weeks stretch last year where I gave up a good bit of runs, but overall had a great year. I thought that would be the hardest thing I’ve ever gone through, but this year I think it’s the health. Some unlucky bounces too. It’s definitely made me work on my mentality and just how bad I want it. I’ve been there every day putting in the work, and it’s nice to see some success.”