The outfielder is hitting .156, but says is timing is coming around.
Boston Red Sox outfielder Shane Victorino is an essential piece of the team's 2013 picture.
CLEARWATER, Fla. - Numbers don't lie, unless they refer to ballplayers in spring training.
That's the take by Red Sox outfielder Shane Victorino, who thinks he is rounding into form.
"I'm still getting comfortable in the box, but physically, I'm feeling good,'' Victorino said after going 1 for 3 with a walk in Boston's 7-6 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.
"I've seen guys have great spring trainings and brutal ones. My timing has gradually been getting there.''
Victorino is hitting .156 in the Grapefruit League. His preparation was interrupted by the World Baseball Classic, where Victorino played for the United States - an opportunity he called an honor.
Red Sox manager John Farrell has said he's noticed better swings by Victorino since his return from the WBC. Production from the switch-hitting outfielder is essential on a team that wants Victorino to hit No. 2 or 3 in the order on most nights.
BARD WATCH: Daniel Bard has had problems with facing first hitters, but Sunday he struck out the first man he encountered.
So what if it was Phillies pitcher Cliff Lee?
"I tried to treat him like any other hitter, pound the strike zone and get ahead,'' said Bard, who struck out three in the fifth inning, but also gave up a run (unearned) and two hits.
Lee is a .164 career hitter. In 2011, he hit .200 with two homers, not bad for a pitcher.
Bard had originally been pegged to pitch Saturday, giving him work on back-to-back days for the first time since 2011.
After it took him 27 pitches to get two outs in a minor league game Friday, that plan was scrapped. His effort Sunday was made more difficult by an error, a bunt single and a passed ball.
Manager John Farrell thought Bard was better than he had been Friday, especially with his fastball. Nonetheless, he called Bard "a work in progress'' and the reliever looks likely to open the season in Triple A.
HIT MEN: Mike Napoli and Jose Iglesias had three hits each. Napoli raised his average to .314, and Iglesias is at .273, which would be more than sufficient for the slick-fielding shortstop.
GETTING NOTICED: Pitcher Brandon Workman will start the season in Double A, but the right-hander got the start and allowed two runs in three innings.
Farrell thought he handled the atmosphere well. Workman thought that with the exception of two walks, he did creditably.
"I didn't feel nerves so much as adrenaline,'' said Workman, 24.
"I don't know what (the Red Sox staff took from it, but I enjoyed pitching against that tough lineup.''
Another Red Sox minor leaguer will start Monday when Graham Godfrey faces the Orioles.
PAP'S BACK: Former Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon, whose ERA is 11.37, entered the game with one out in the sixth inning. He induced a double play, then stayed briefly on the mound because he forgot the inning was over.