Daniel Bard's transition to the starting rotation has been anything but smooth and now he finds himself the odd man out.
The Red Sox optioned the right-hander to Triple-A Pawtucket after his last start in Toronto on Sunday that saw him give up five runs, six walks and two hit-batters in less than two innings. For the season, Bard is 5-6 with a 5.24 ERA, 34 strikeouts and 37 walks in 55 innings.
Bard was moved into the starting rotation this season after posting solid numbers coming out of the bullpen for the Sox the past few years. In 2010 and 2011 he had a 1.93 and 3.33 ERA respectively while pitching over 70 innings each year. The hard-throwing righty was considered one of the prize prospects of the Red Sox organization when he arrived on the scene, but this year, Bard, 26, has not been able to put it together.
Manager Bobby Valentine said that Bard needs to work on his mechanics while in Pawtucket. He also said that he was not sure who would replace Bard in the rotation but suggested that Daisuke Matsusaki, who was scheduled to pitch three innings for Pawtucket on Tuesday, may be close to returning to the team.
Without Bard, the Red Sox took on the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday at Fenway. They were able to come back from a two-run deficit in the ninth inning to tie the game only to see the Orioles come back with two in the tenth to win the game.
The loss dropped the Sox 28-27 and last place in the AL East. However, they sit just three games behind the division leaders.
For Baltimore, the win put them back into first place, tied with Tampa Bay at 31-24. The AL East is the only division in baseball in which all the teams are above .500.
