Yankees' David Bednar, nicknamed 'Bus,' is rolling over opponents

David Bednar was doing a football-type drill one day with the Padres. A teammate watched the stocky rookie reliever from the Pittsburgh area and thought of the Steelers’ stocky Hall of Fame running back, Jerome “The Bus” Bettis. And Bednar suddenly had a nickname.

He became “Bus,” courtesy of Craig Stammen, then a reliever and now San Diego’s manager.

“I was like high-stepping,” Bednar told Newsday. “He knew I was a big Steelers fan.”

The nickname went dormant after Bednar got traded to the Pirates in 2021. Then the 6-1, 250-pound closer got dealt to the Yankees at the trade deadline last July 31, joining up with two 2020 Padres teammates, Tim Hill and Trent Grisham. Suddenly, Bednar was “Bus” again.

“That’s what we used to call him in San Diego,” Hill said. “I started calling him that when he came back and we were reunited here. I asked him if anybody called him that in Pittsburgh. He said, ‘No.’

“At first, I kind of felt bad because I was like I brought it back and I didn’t know if he liked it or not. But then I forgot Trent also was there with him, so it was kind of a dual thing. We both kind of got that going. I don’t think that he dislikes it. So I think it’s OK.”

This “Bus” was rolling after he joined the Yankees last season, and after an uneven start to this one, the two-time All-Star from Mars, Pennsylvania, has been out of this world for a little more than two months now.

He has fired a career-best 23 2⁄3 consecutive scoreless innings — the longest active streak in the majors — in his last 20 outings and has an 0.55 WHIP and a .103/.167/.115 slash line against him in that stretch.

The 20 consecutive scoreless outings with at least one inning pitched is a Yankees record, according to statistician Katie Sharp. That included an inning Wednesday against the Pirates and one-inning saves in the first two games of the Phillies series this weekend before the Yankees fell, 11-4, on Sunday night.

So Bednar is 4-3 with a 2.42 ERA and 20 saves in 22 chances — his fourth straight season with at least 20 saves. He hasn’t allowed a run since May 18, and the Yankees are 33-8 in games in which he has pitched.

It’s just that it’s almost trade deadline time again. The Yankees are expected to be in the market for more bullpen help before 6 p.m. on Aug. 3.

Will they try to upgrade at closer if Mason Miller is made available by the Padres? The dominant two-time All-Star is 2-1 with a 0.82 ERA, an 0.82 WHIP, 27 saves in 27 chances and 80 strikeouts in 43 2⁄3 innings. The Yankees have been among the teams named in the speculation about possible landing spots.

Bednar, a free agent-to-be, was even mentioned in one speculated return package.

Asked about the Miller talk, Bednar said, “I think whenever it comes to the trade deadline, you just trust the GM . . . It’s all clearly out of our control.”

Asked if he would be comfortable with a setup role if Miller became the Yankees’ closer, the 31-year-old righty again said that would be out of his control and said “we’ll cross that bridge” if it happens.

When the Pirates traded for Bednar, he was thrilled. He grew up about 30 minutes north of Pittsburgh.

“I was definitely pretty pumped up,” he said. “I was in San Diego from about as far away from home to getting traded to basically right back home. So it was an awesome experience. I’m really grateful for the opportunity because not many people get to play for the team they grew up watching.

“ . . . I grew up being a Pirates fan, Steelers fan, Penguins fan. The whole deal.”

He said it was “cool to see” and compete against his old Pirates friends last week. Bednar saved 101 games in four-plus seasons with Pittsburgh, making the National League All-Star team in 2022 and 2023 and posting a career-high 39 saves in ’23.

Then the Yankees sent three minor-leaguers to get him from one of his boyhood dream teams. He went 4-0 with a 2.19 ERA and 10 saves before adding two more in the postseason.

“Obviously, it was still just part of the business,” Bednar said of the trade. “I’m very fortunate to be with the Yankees. There’s a certain sense of pride you get from wearing the pinstripes day in and day out. It’s been an awesome experience so far.”

The Yankees’ bullpen took a major league-leading 3.01 ERA into Sunday’s series finale, including a majors-best 2.21 ERA in the previous 44 games.

Bednar’s ERA sat at 5.14 before he began his scoreless run on May 22. He didn’t have a reason for his up-and-down beginning, saying, “It’s baseball.” But he knows why he has been pitching well since.

“Just filling up the zone,” he said. “Having confidence in all three of my pitches and trusting myself. When you do that, good things happen.”