BALTIMORE – They were, quite simply, the biggest outs of the game. And there was no question about who the Red Sox wanted to have in the game to handle them.
In a situation where, for many, it might have been unimaginable to use Daniel Bard four or three or even two years ago, he was the pitcher whom the Sox wanted to ride.
Red Sox starter Jon Lester was, in the words of his manager, Terry Francona, “gassed” after throwing 6 1/3 innings and 102 pitches on a steamy Baltimore night. He had navigated a 1-0 lead into the seventh. But the left-hander was faltering, walking three straight Orioles with one out.
And so, with the bases loaded, Lester was done, and the game hung in the balance. In came Bard, who is emerging as perhaps the most important pitcher in the Red Sox bullpen, a pattern that continued in his club’s 8-0 victory in Camden Yards on Saturday. (Recap.)
Bard had little margin for error. He relished the challenge, entering the game with a nothing-to-lose mentality, and extinguished the Orioles’ one real chance in the contest.
“I think some guys kind of thrive in that situation,” said Bard. “To me it’s a win-win situation. Come in and bail him out like that, or give up a knock, hate to say it, not necessarily expected to come out of it with no runs, so it’s kind of a bonus when you do. I don’t mind throwing in that situation.”
The basis for his confidence was soon evident. Bard was brought in to face Orioles pinch-hitter Luke Scott, a dangerous mistake hitter who had 10 homers on the year.
Bard went with a fastball away for a called strike, threw a ball inside and then threw perhaps the most interesting pitch of the sequence. Bard peeled off a 91 mph changeup that Scott swung and missed to fall behind, 1-2.
It was Bard’s third best pitch, yet it has become a good enough offering that he and catcher Jason Varitek were unafraid to use it in a pivotal situation.
“Maybe a year ago he might not be able to make that pitch, or we didn’t know enough and the experience wasn’t there between pitcher-catcher or just pitcher,” said Varitek. “He’s becoming more complete but he’ll continue to get better. And he’s pretty good where he’s at.”
Scott then popped up the next pitch – a 99 mph inside fastball – to shallow center, not deep enough for the runner on third to tag. Then, with two outs, Bard got Corey Patterson to foul out to third on a 99 mph fastball.
Ballgame.
The Orioles played like a deflated team after that point, allowing the Sox to score one run in the eighth and then pile on six in the ninth.
“I think it kind of drains the hope out of them,” Bard said of extinguishing the rally. “They definitely had something going there. They weren’t really hitting the ball, but they managed to work some walks against a guy that had been dealing all night. It’s nice to be able to take the wind out of their sails.”
Bard went back out for a scoreless eighth, and retired all five batters he faced on the night. That extended his scoreless streak to 12 games and 13 innings.
For the season, he has a 1.80 ERA. Left-handed hitters have an .074 average against him, allowing the Sox to bring him in when the game is on the line, regardless of whom he might face.
The right-hander is capable of entering at any point in the game, and he can go more than an inning at a time. In short, he has become a huge bullpen presence for his club.
“His stuff is good. He’s confident. He should be. He’s gone through the league. Now he knows what he’s doing. He knows his role. It’s a huge advantage for us. We’ve got a guy who can come in, like he did, then go back out,” said Francona. “Whether it’s left-handed or right-handed, it doesn’t matter. It’s a big weapon for us.”
Many doubted that Bard could ever emerge as such a force. Makeup questions have been attached to the right-hander dating to college. That was the reason why, despite the right-hander’s tremendous natural ability and overpowering stuff, he fell to the 28th pick of the first round in 2006.
And those same makeup questions dogged the pitcher in his early professional career. When he struggled in 2007, forging a 7.08 ERA and walking 78 in 75 innings, he was viewed – at least by many other organizations – as being a head case rather than a young pitcher working his way through mechanical difficulties.
Even when he turned things around following that season, first in the Hawaiian Winter League and then during the 2008 minor league season, teams attached no more than limited value to him.
Some teams would mention Bard’s name as a possible throw-in in deals. The Braves tossed out Bard’s name when the Sox inquired about a deal for left-hander Will Ohman in 2008. Teams didn’t think they were overshooting so much as they saw an opportunity to buy low on a pitcher whom they viewed as no more than a lottery ticket, an pitcher with potential if his approach could match his arm.
His name was also brought up as a possible chip when the Sox were discussing deals for Rangers catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia (a player whom the Sox had also inquired about when he was with Atlanta, before retreating when the Braves sought Jon Lester in return), and when the Sox explored the possibility of a deal with the Diamondbacks for Miguel Montero.
Whenever teams would mention Bard, it was almost always with that asterisk – “We don’t know about his makeup, but…” Even in 2009, when Bard was amidst a highly successful rookie season in the Sox bullpen, scouts still questioned whether the performance was sustainable.
Now, those questions are fading.
Bard is continuing to improve. Yet on a regular basis, he is already impacting the Sox, thanks to an apparent fearlessness that helps him to succeed regardless of circumstance.
Bard has now shown an ability to handle virtually any challenge that has been thrown at him. He has both failed and thrived in Yankee Stadium. He delivered a tremendous two-inning relief outing in Game 3 of the ALDS. And now, he oozes confidence with nearly any situation that greets him, a point that was once again underscored on Saturday.
“He was great,” said an appreciative Lester. “He bailed me out. He's done that all year for us. Hopefully, he continues to do it. You obviously see what he brings to the table every night he pitches. He's done great. You can't speak highly enough about what he's done coming out of the bullpen for us.”