BOSTON — The Red Sox will recall Daniel Bard from Double-A Portland, according to the Portland Press Herald. Knuckleballer Steven Wright has been optioned.
BOSTON — The Red Sox will recall Daniel Bard from Double-A Portland, according to the Portland Press Herald. Bard will take the place of knuckleballer Steven Wright, who was optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket after making his major league debut Tuesday night, and Bard's stay in the majors will be presumably short.
Wright came on Tuesday in relief of Alfredo Aceves' poor start in a 13-0 loss to Oakland that was shortened to seven innings because of rain. Wright allowed five runs in 3 2/3 innings and was optioned immediately afterward.
Bard pitched a scoreless sixth inning Tuesday in a 9-8 home win for the Sea Dogs over the Binghamton Mets. He hasn't allowed an earned run in five consecutive outings, and has a 4.00 ERA in eight outings and nine innings. He has four strikeouts and four walks.
“Just been simplifying everything,” Bard said Tuesday night according to the Press Herald. “I think I’ve made some good strides through spring training and this was a chance to build on what we did."
The Red Sox sent Bard Portland to start the season because the team wanted him to have an extended stay to get himself right. With Craig Breslow perhaps one rehab outing away — his next scheduled outing is with Pawtucket on Saturday — Bard is likely just insurance for now. The Red Sox have needed 12 innings from their bullpen in the last three days, including the doubleheader.
"Sometimes guys go to Triple-A, they think, 'If I have a couple of good starts or a good game, a couple of six or seven games in a row when I’m good, 'Oh, OK, I’m back,'" Sox pitching coach Juan Nieves said in March when Bard was assigned to Portland. "No, this is a process. Consistency is going to be very important. Not only from the performance itself is how his consistency is with his delivery and his thoughts. ... it’s not a demotion. It’s just, we want him to understand that there’s a process."
Wright waited a while to make his debut — the 28-year-old was recalled a week ago Tuesday, when Joel Hanrahan went on the disabled list.
"He gave us a lift not to go to the bullpen with any more need getting through the seventh inning," manager John Farrell said of Wright's outing. "Tonight is kind of a hard night to judge a guy in his first outing, given the fact that he’s been off about nine days since his last game. Unfortunately for him and the need for us to kind of replenish our bullpen, he gets optioned out. this is a guy we feel has starting capability at the big leagues and yet he’s still in the development path to gain consistency with his knuckleball. He’ll continue to do that at Pawtucket.”
Said Wright: "I kind of knew it was coming. It was just a matter of time because you have (John) Lackey coming back. With him coming back, that’s the guy you want in the rotation, so I came as an emergency guy and I was able to eat up some innings today and hopefully I get a chance to come back."
Daniel Bard just got the word in the #SeaDogs clubhouse. He's going up, to join the #RedSox
— Kevin Thomas (@ClearTheBases) April 24, 2013
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