Mom, make some room in the basement because we’re moving back in, temporarily we hope.
With Daniel Bard unable to hit the broadside of a barn on Sunday afternoon and his Boston Red Sox offense unable to do much against rookie Drew Hutchison, the Toronto Blue Jays were able to win 5-1. The win by the Blue Jays moves them back into a tie for last in the AL East.
Bard’s progression as a starter took a major blow yesterday.
In previous starts, he’s had trouble with his mechanics, mostly with his fastball. His control was so bad that he could have really hurt someone. He hit two Blue Jays batters and even though he wasn’t trying to hit them, he put his own hitters in a precarious position.
The one hitter who bore the brunt of it was Kevin Youkilis who got hit by Drew Hutchison in the shoulder. Youk had no problem with getting hit because of what happened with Bard’s wildness but he did take exception to being hit in the shoulder. He yelled out to Hutchison and Jays catcher J.P. Arencibia to hit him in the butt.
When Bard would come out of the bullpen, if he was having mechanical problems, he could work his way through them since it was likely he’d be out there for an inning. But as a starter he hasn’t had that luxury. A few starts back when he had the same problem, he decided that he’d pitch out of the stretch but that was only a temporary solution to a bigger problem.
Bard does have an upside as a starter. He has shown it at times. But with these mechanical problems, it can also become a mental thing. And that will make the battle all the much harder.
Now, Bard could find himself back in the bullpen or in Triple-A to figure things out. Something has to be done as they can’t really allow Bard to go back out there and pitch until he has things figured out. The day off today could also allow Bobby Valentine to skip a start for Bard and keep the rotation in order for now.
The bullpen picked up Bard, who only lasted 1.2 innings.
Franklin Morales went 4.1 innings, allowing two hits while striking out four. Scott Atchison went an inning giving up a hit with one strikeout. Rich Hill also went an inning allowing two hits while striking out one.
The offense wasn’t able to do much of anything against Jays starter Hutchison. The only run they would get would come off the bat of Kelly Shoppach who hit a solo home run. Mike Aviles did have two of the six hits the Sox had on the afternoon.
It was a rough day all around but hopefully just a bump in the road for the Red Sox.
They are off today so we’ll be back in a short while with the pitching matchups for the series with the Baltimore Orioles. So for now, let’s take at look at the overnight links from the media by clicking on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.
To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click
Bard just can’t locate control in loss to Jays [Boston Globe]
Morales earns a bullpen ‘save’ [Boston Globe]
Missing the target [Boston Globe]
Daniel Bard’s not a relief [Boston Herald]
New rules to cost sox draft leverage [Boston Herald]
Scott Podsednik worthy of long term [Boston Herald]
Save goes to Franklin Morales [Boston Herald]
Sitting down Daniel Bard not a wild idea [Boston Herald]
Why the Red Sox are still on the hunt for starting pitching [Rob Bradford – WEEI.com]
Bard implosion leads to Red Sox loss to Jays, 5-1 [CSN New England]
Red Sox to use off-day to mull roster decisions [CSN New England]
Morales saves Red Sox bullpen with long outing [CSN New England]
Bard performance resurrects old bullpen debate [CSN New England]
Rapid reaction: Blue Jays 5, Sox 1 [ESPN Boston]
Boston Red Sox starter Daniel Bard is desperate for answers [ESPN Boston]
This year’s Daniel Bard wishes he could find last year’s Daniel Bard [Full Count]
Report: Kevin Youkilis Likely to Land With Phillies, Dodgers or Diamondbacks If Traded [NESN.com]
Daniel Bard Watches Tape Immediately After Rough Start Versus Blue Jays (Video) [NESN.com]
Bobby Valentine Downplays Daniel Bard’s Struggles as Fans Look to Return of Daisuke Matsuzaka [NESN.com]
Pedroia expects to be back in lineup Tuesday [RedSox.com]
Valentine keeps Nava in lineup for finale [RedSox.com]
Roster decisions looming for Red Sox [RedSox.com]
Candid interview with Middlebrooks [RedSox.com]
Bard takes a step back in loss to Blue Jays [RedSox.com]
For more slices of Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, CSN New England, ESPN Boston, NESN, Providence Journal, RedSox.com and WEEI websites.
And if you must check out the enemy news, head over to the Toronto Star and Toronto Sun websites.
Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.
photo credit: Getty Images
