PITTSBURGH — For the first time since April 24, Antonio Bastardo is back in the Pirates’ bullpen. Considering the fact that the 31-year-old left-hander is carrying a 16.20 ERA this season and took the entire 30-day rehab time to recover from a minor quad strain, he’s probably not expected to be returning as a conquering hero, even given the recent state of the Pirates bullpen.
But there is some reason for optimism according to Bastardo. He took his down time to work out a few things he wasn’t happy with about his game. He didn’t think his arm strength was up to par, so he spent an extended time building up to over two innings and pitching every other day for an extended stretch.