Valentine: Red Sox pitching 'tough to look at'

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Following his team's 13-3 loss to the Rays Wednesday night, Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine called the Sox' pitching performance, "tough to look at," citing the number of total pitches (173) thrown by the team's pitchers. The Sox' hurlers allowed 13 hits and 10 walks.

The issues for the Red Sox began with starting pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka, who lasted just three innings while giving up five runs on nine hits. Neither Matsuzaka nor Valentine would commit to the righty making one more start this season.

"We'll see what he's feeling like [Thursday]," said Valentine of Matsuzaka, who dropped to 1-6. "Next time we have an off day, he'll have a little more rest. Maybe that's what's needed this time of year."

"It’s a hard question to answer," the pitcher said through translator Jeff Cutler. "I still haven’t really taken in what happened today so it’s a hard question to answer."

Also struggling were relievers Alfredo Aceves and Daniel Bard.

Aceves, who hadn't pitched since Sept. 12, gave up four runs on three hits over two innings in relief. Bard, meanwhile, recorded just one out while walking three, surrendering one hit and three runs. Since returning to the majors, the righty has pitched in five games, giving up nine runs on eight hits and walking five in just 3 1/3 innings. Opponents are hitting .471 against Bard during the stretch.

After Wednesday night's loss, Valentine was asked if it was wise to continue to pitch Bard.

"Daniel Bard is kind of in a Catch-22 where he looks like he needs to pitch more, but you'd like for him to pitch better to pitch more," the manager said. "He waits a long time to get in there. It looks like he's just trying too hard. ... He says he really wants to pitch. We're really trying to get him where he could have some kind of good feeling during this season at the end. It's tough."

For more Red Sox news, go to the team page at weei.com/redsox.