Daniel Bard

PHILADELPHIA - It was a noble idea the Red Sox had, taking Daniel Bard out of the bullpen and making him a starter. But that transition has left a pitcher with one of the best arms in baseball either unable or unwilling to throw his fastball for strikes. Bard continued down a path Friday night that could lead him back to the bullpen, giving up four runs in the first inning as the Phillies beat the Red Sox, 6-4. "This loss is definitely on me," Bard said. The Red Sox are 2-5 in games Bard has started and he has a 4.85 earned run average.

Alfredo Aceves jogged out of the bullpen at Comerica Park in Detroit on April 8, charged with protecting a three-run lead for the Red Sox in the ninth inning. The righthander from Mexico spent all of spring training trying to make the team as a starter and was the closer only by default, the Sox having lost Andrew Bailey to a thumb injury just before the start of the season. Aceves blew his first save chance in seven pitches. Austin Jackson and Brennan Boesch singled before Miguel Cabrera hit a home run to left field.

PHILADELPHIA - Cody Ross was limping when he entered the visitors' clubhouse at Citizens Bank Park on Saturday afternoon and went immediately to the trainer's room. Ross did not play in a 7-5 victory against the Phillies and it could be a few days before he returns after fouling a ball off his left foot in the eighth inning on Friday night. "I'm not going to say I'm going to play tomorrow. I don't know how it's going to feel," said Ross, who doesn't feel he will need to go on the disabled list.

Alfredo Aceves jogged out of the bullpen at Comerica Park in Detroit on April 8, charged with protecting a three-run lead for the Red Sox in the ninth inning. The righthander from Mexico spent all of spring training trying to make the team as a starter and was the closer only by default, the Sox having lost Andrew Bailey to a thumb injury just before the start of the season. Aceves blew his first save chance in seven pitches. Austin Jackson and Brennan Boesch singled before Miguel Cabrera hit a home run to left field.

By Peter Abraham, Globe Staff ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — David Ortiz said he expects to play at least one game at first base in Philadelphia this weekend. Ortiz played 13 innings in the field over two games last season with Adrian Gonzalez going to right field for those 13 innings. Ortiz laughed and said, "No!" when asked if playing a few games at first base in spring training had prepared him for the interleague road games. "I'm fine," he said. "No fear. ... Wish me good luck.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Red Sox now lead the major leagues with six balks. That may not seem like much, but when these lapses in concentration cost you a game, you have to start wondering what the heck is going on. Clay Buchholz balked in Tampa Bay's first run in a 2-1 loss to the Rays Wednesday night at Tropicana Field. And Franklin Morales committed a pair of balks in back-to-back innings, but he was able to get out of both situations unscathed. Buchholz, Morales, and Daniel Bard have two balks apiece.

SEATTLE - First Kevin Youkilis, then Marco Scutaro dropped out of the Red Sox lineup before last night's game against the Mariners, both felled by stiff backs. Manager Terry Francona plugged in Jed Lowrie and Mike Aviles into the lineup. The replacements each drove in a run as the Sox rallied to a 6-4 win. David Ortiz homered and drove in two runs as the Sox won for the fifth time in their last six games and took a two-game lead on the Yankees in the division. Lowrie had a solo home run and Aviles had a sacrifice fly. "I get a kick out of when we use our whole team,"...

DETROIT - Red Sox closer Andrew Bailey will undergo thumb surgery this week, which means the Red Sox will likely not have him back until the All-Star break. Closer by committee until then? This correspondent believes Bobby Valentine should send Daniel Bard back to the bullpen. Bard was supposed to be Jonathan Papelbon's heir apparent anyway. Yes, he's stretched out as a starter and you can make the case that it's not fair to him to have to go back. But he's going back to what would be a glamorous role - not the set-up man, but the pitcher who earns saves...

FORT MYERS, Fla. - The smooth transition from the bullpen to the starting rotation hit a bunch of bumps for Daniel Bard on Thursday. The righthander lasted only 2 2/3 innings against the Cardinals, giving up seven runs on six hits and four walks with one strikeout against a lineup that included only four regulars. "He's probably had better days," manager Bobby Valentine said. Bard needed 66 pitches to get eight outs and looked nothing like the pitcher who had sailed through his first two starts.

By Tony Massarotti, Boston.com Columnist In retrospect, on a night like this, the analysis is rather elementary. Daniel Bard needed someone like Daniel Bard behind him in the bullpen. Instead, Bard lit the fuse on Tuesday night at Kauffman Stadium, where reliever Matt Albers promptly entered with the gasoline in a 6-4 Red Sox defeat to the Kansas City Royals. Just like that, another potential Red Sox victory went poof. And once again, we cannot help but wonder whether Bard is truly suited to start, whether the Red Sox are doing both him and themselves a disservice by keeping...

BALTIMORE - Daniel Bard junked his delivery in the fourth inning Wednesday, pitching from the stretch as he tried to find some way to get the ball over the plate. It paid off in the sense that he pitched long enough to get the victory against the Orioles, going 5 ⅓ innings in a game the Red Sox won, 6-5. But it was another game in which Bard struggled. The righthander allowed two runs on five hits with four walks, a hit batter, and two strikeouts. "I couldn't maintain a consistent delivery or arm slot," Bard said.

BALTIMORE - Daniel Bard junked his delivery in the fourth inning Wednesday, pitching from the stretch as he tried to find some way to get the ball over the plate. It paid off in the sense that he pitched long enough to get the victory against the Orioles, going 5 1/3 innings in a game the Red Sox won, 6-5. But it was another game in which Bard struggled. The righthander allowed two runs on five hits with four walks, a hit batter, and two strikeouts. "I couldn't maintain a consistent delivery or arm slot," Bard said.

By Peter Abraham, Globe Staff And suddenly Daisuke Matsuzaka is ready to pitch. The Red Sox announced moments ago that Daisuke Matsuzaka will pitch for Pawtucket on Saturday night against Toledo. Matsuzaka was nearing the end of a 30-day minor league injury rehabilitation assignment when the Red Sox said last Saturday that he had pain in his right trapezius muscle and had received a cortisone injection. That ended his rehabilitation stint and allowed the Red Sox to keep the righthander on the disabled list.

The Red Sox are back at .500, getting stellar outings from their starting pitchers (Daniel Bard, aside; yeesh), the bullpen has been nails, and the offense continues to rake, as evidenced by Scott (Burly) Podsednik going deep for the first time since May 6 - 2010 - in Wednesday's compelling 6-5 win over the Baltimore Orioles. Things are clearly better, and whether or not it was indeed that team meeting that steered things back on course, these Red Sox all of a sudden seem more in tune with each other and the job at hand, making them a lot more fun to watch than they have been in a...

Celebrating the release of the new disc "Fenway Park: Greatest Hits" at the Hard Rock Cafe Thursday were Sox players Daniel Bard , Jarrod Saltalamacchia , and Darnell McDonald , all of whom perform on the 12-track CD. Led by singer-guitarist Joe Silva and backed by Grammy nominee Jon Butcher , the players joined in a chorus of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" while team president Larry Lucchino and wife Stacey clapped along....

BALTIMORE (AP) — Brian Matusz allowed two hits and struck out nine in 6 1-3 innings, Steve Tolleson and Wilson Betemit both hit two-run homers, and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Boston Red Sox 4-1 on Tuesday night. It was the sixth win in eight games for the AL East-leading Orioles, who improved to 4-1 against Boston this season. Tolleson homered off Felix Doubront in the second inning and Betemit connected against Matt Albers in the eighth. Kevin Youkilis homered for the Red Sox, who were seeking to climb over .500 for the first time this season.

My Globe colleague Nick Cafardo believes the Red Sox should make Daniel Bard the closer now that Andrew Bailey is undergoing surgery that could well knock him out for the much of the season. That's a fair point. I thought that Bard should have been made the closer last fall when Jonathan Papelbon bolted for Philadelphia. To me, it made great sense to push Bard from the eighth inning to the ninth inning. Then the Sox could have used their trade chips to obtain a No. 4 starter. Instead the Sox made Bard a starter and used their trade chips to obtain Bailey and Mark Melancon.

BALTIMORE - Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine got creative with his lineup when Kevin Youkilis returned to the roster Tuesday night after spending three weeks on the disabled list. Youkilis started at first base against the Orioles with Adrian Gonzalez moving to right field. Rookie Will Middlebrooks, who became an important member of the lineup when Youkilis was out, stayed at third base. The idea was to maximize the team's ability to score runs. Brian Matusz and three relievers foiled that, holding the Red Sox to a season-low two hits as the Orioles won, 4-1, before 25,171 at Camden Yards.

BALTIMORE (AP) — Daniel Nava and Kelly Shoppach hit sixth-inning homers to turn a tie game in Boston's favor, and the Red Sox withstood two home runs by Nick Johnson in a 6-5 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday. Scott Podsednik also homered for the Red Sox, who climbed back to .500 (22-22) with their 10th win in 13 games. Boston took two of three from the Orioles, who were seeking to win a fourth straight series against the Red Sox for the first time since 1960.