Daniel Bard allowed one run on six hits and four walks in six innings of Sunday's 12-1 win over the Indians. Bard struck out two in improving to 3-4. Not a bad afternoon, though Bard has now issued at least four free passes in three of his six starts, and has yet to turn in a walk-free performance. He'll bring a 4.30 ERA, 1.54 WHIP and ugly 23/20 K/BB ratio into his Friday outing in Philadelphia.

Daniel Bard struggled in his second start back in the rotation, allowing the Athletics four runs on eight hits in just 5 1/3 innings on Wednesday. Bard continued showing his improved command, walking just two in the game, but he only recorded one strikeout. The loss drops him to 2-3 with a 4.38 ERA on the season. He'll look to get back in the win column when he takes on the Royals in Kansas City on Tuesday.

Daniel Bard is not available on Wednesday. Bard threw a 40-pitch bullpen session before the game in anticipation of his Friday start against the White Sox. So his stay in the bullpen lasted just one appearance.

Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine said during an appearance on WEEI in Boston that Daniel Bard could throw an inning in relief in Wednesday's game, but is still expected to start Friday against the White Sox. Bard got the win in relief Monday against the Twins after getting two crucial outs in the bottom of the eighth. Things could change if the bullpen continues to be a mess and the Red Sox have a reasonable alternative for their rotation (Aaron Cook, Daisuke Matsuzaka and free agent Roy Oswalt are all possibilities), but the club still intends to give Bard a fair shake as a starter.

In his first relief appearance of the season, Daniel Bard picked up the win on Monday after tossing only two-thirds of an inning. How ironic that Bard's first win came out of the bullpen. Despite walking a batter and throwing only four of 11 pitches for strikes, he helped the Red Sox end their five-game slide.

Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine said Monday that moving Daniel Bard back to the bullpen full-time "doesn't look like a great temptation." Sunday's game against the Yankees was rained out, so the Red Sox have decided to skip Bard in the rotation and use him temporarily out of the bullpen until his next scheduled outing on Friday. Boston's bullpen is dead-last in the majors with an 8.44 ERA, so we can't see how they wouldn't be tempted to move him back into a late-inning role, but Bard has made it clear that he wants to be a starter.

Despite walking seven batters, Daniel Bard limited the Rays to one run in 6 2/3 innings on Monday. Only the last walk hurt him, as it came with the bases loaded and two outs in the seventh. Bard was pretty clearly gassed at this point, and manager Bobby Valentine should have already removed him from the game. Still, despite all of the walks, it was a strong outing from Bard. Both his fastball and his slider were in good form, and he ended up with seven strikeouts.

Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington said Monday during an appearance on MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM that the team still wants to see what Daniel Bard can do as a starting pitcher. There's already plenty of clamoring for Bard to move back to the bullpen after Mark Melancon and Alfredo Aceves imploded in the opening series against the Tigers, but Cherington isn't ready to panic. "It's way too early in the season to talk about changing roles or reacting off a three-game series," said Cherington. "Ultimately, of course if things are not working deeper as we get deeper into the season, we'll consider changes, whether that involves a pitcher inside the organization, outside the organization, different roles, etc., but for right now, Daniel's going to start tomorrow. We'll see how this goes, and again, we feel like there's enough talent down there to get the job done." Bard will make his first major league start Tuesday against the Blue Jays.

When asked if Daniel Bard is an option to take over as closer, Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine responded, "Might be." It's tough to know if Valentine is being truthful, cagey, misleading, sarcastic, or some combination of them all. At the moment, however, Valentine certainly has to be seriously considering ending Bard's conversion to the rotation. Andrew Bailey is out until after the All-Star break with a thumb injury and Boston's bullpen has been awful thus far. Alfredo Aceves, Valentine's choice to begin the year as closer, has allowed four hits and three runs without recording an out over two appearances. Mark Melancon is 0-2 with a 36.00 ERA and 5.00 WHIP over two games. It's early, so it is probably no time to panic, but if both continue to struggle, Bobby V and Boston's management will have no choice but to mix it up.

Daniel Bard will make his first major league start Tuesday against the Blue Jays. Bard threw a simulated game on Wednesday at the Red Sox's spring training complex to ensure that he's probably stretched out for Tuesday's big debut. The 26-year-old right-hander posted a rough 6.57 ERA in 24 2/3 innings this spring, but there's optimism that he'll be able to handle the fifth spot in the Boston rotation gracefully.