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Four pitches zipped into the catchers' mitt of Dusty Brown.

97 miles per hour. Then, 96. 95. 96 again. All went for balls.

Right-hander Daniel Bard just walked the lead runner with a one-run lead against the Toledo Mud Hens yesterday. Now skinny-as-a-rail Jason Tyner, veteran of eight major league seasons, was heading to the plate to lay down a bunt.

Instead of losing control, Bard bore down. He allowed one more ball, then over powered Tyner, striking him out with fastballs no less than 95 miles per hour. After those first five misses, Bard threw only strikes, topping his fastball at 98 miles per hour and slamming the door on the Mud Hens to save his fifth game, a 2-1 win.

"Danny was real good," Paw Sox skipper Ron Johnson said. "I really the last pitch he threw in the game. That was very good."

The last pitch he threw, a slider, was his only off speed pitch of the outing left pinch-hitter Don Kelly meekly failing to check his swing at the inside pitch.
"It took me a couple pitches," Bard said. "I needed to get loose but they weren't bad misses. They were all around the plate, which is a good thing."

So the 2006 first round pick regained his focus, kept firing heaters, and promptly disposed of the Mud Hens.

"In the past couple years, it might've taken me a batter or two, but tonight it took me those four pitches to get my fastball locked in," Bard said. "If you can turn those adjustments from a whole at bat to just pitch-to-pitch adjustments, you're going to be a lot more effective."

Bard's signature fastball was clocked as high as 100 miles per hour in Spring Training as the University of North Carolina alum struck out 14 hitters in 10.1 innings and allowed zero runs, peaking the interest of Red Sox management in Spring Training. But, instead of dwelling on what the front office thought, Bard was busy learning from the professionals at Fort Myers, Florida.

"I had a conversation with [Jon] Lester," Bard recalls. "I remember just asking what his biggest adjustments from facing triple-A hitters to facing big league hitters. He just said it's kind of like any other level. [Hitters] get a little bit more selective, they recognize pitches a little bit earlier. They'll also learn from their mistakes. You can't get them out on the same pitch over and over like some guys in the minors. Just trying to get bits and pieces from the guys who have been there."

The 23 year old Bard is poised to become the next big impact youngster on the Sox roster and he's using his time in Pawtucket to work on all of his pitches, including that high 80's slider and a changeup.

"I'm pitching to get guys out," he said. "If that means get them out with four or five fastballs in a row, that's what I'm going to do. If the catcher calls for an off speed pitch, a breaking ball, a changeup, then I'll throw it."

Earlier this season, Bard threw nine consecutive strikes to the Rochester Red Wings. None of them were hit - a feat that's only been accomplished 42 times in Major League Baseball history. Not a bad feat for the kid still adjusting to life as a reliever after struggling as a starter two seasons ago.

"I love it," he said simply. "I like the pressure that comes with it. It's kind of a no holds barred attitude, just go right after them."

That attitude immediately conjures images of Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon, who Bard called "different" with a smile. "The person that he goes from in the clubhouse to the person he is on the mound is like night and day. He's joking around as much as anybody. He's loud, telling jokes. And then he's just locked in. It just shows the preparation and the amount of focus it takes to be successful on a consistent basis like that."

If anything, his manager is trying to temper his enthusiasm for Bard.

"It's a month into the season. So, I think you try of refrain from just going crazy. Obviously he has good stuff," Johnson said. "I have been impressed so far with his composure."