His matinee performance in Baltimore on Wednesday will likely do little to quiet the detractors who say Daniel Bard is failing in his attempt to become a big-league starter.

The 26-year-old right-hander allowed 10 baserunners in just 5 1/3 innings. He struggled with his command. He was into his fifth inning before registering a strikeout against an Oriole club that strikes out more than any other American League team. He threw only 49 of 90 pitches for strikes. Only seven of those strikes were swinging. And his fastball averaged 92.3 mph, down almost 5 mph from his typical heater of 2011.

Yet within the details of how Bard managed to limit first-place Baltimore to just two runs, and ultimately earn the victory in a 6-5 Red Sox triumph at Camden Yards, came evidence of why it's still too early to give up on the idea that he belongs at the back of the rotation — and maybe even some reason to be encouraged.

Although he wasn't perfect in any inning, and he walked at least four batters for the fourth straight outing, Bard once again showed the moxie and mentality necessary to at least met the minimum of what the Sox expect of their starters.

It was flawed, and he admitted so. But when things got sticky, Bard pitched himself out of big trouble. When things broke down, Bard kept his head and got back on track. And when all was said and done, Bard had found a way to be pitching in the sixth inning for the seventh time in eight starts. That's as many times as staff ace Jon Lester has gone so deep — and the southpaw has made one more start.

“My command was not acceptable — it wasn't good today — but I'd walk a guy and just make a pitch when I needed to to get out of an inning,” Bard told reporters after improving to 3-4. “When you don't have a great feel for your stuff that day, that's all you can try to do, is try to make that pitch when you need to to get the double play, to get soft contact when you need it.

“It might be a 2-0 fastball in — there's nothing fancy to it except you're making that pitch, you know the guy's swinging, and you get soft contact. Making those pitches today is what kept us in it.”

Because Boston came to know him as a fire-balling late-game reliever who routinely flirted with triple-digits on the radar gun, Bard's drop in velocity has been a red flag for some. So has a plummeting ratio of strikeouts per nine innings, which is down to 5.3 after checking in at 9.1 out of the bullpen in 2011.

But Bard's comments Wednesday — and consistently since spring training — make clear that his approach to starting isn't comparable to the approach he brought to the bump while relieving. And, really, the numbers aren't comparable, either.

In relief, Bard could come in and air it out for an inning or two. He hardly ever used his bullets to throw side sessions between appearances. He conditioned his arm from the day camp began to come in and bring the heat. Now, having known since mid-winter that he'd at least attempt to be a starter, the way he's prepared his arm for this season has been totally different.

That is certainly a factor in explaining his statistics. And so is the thinking side of pitching. As a reliever who faced a hitter only once a game, Bard could attack. He could rely on his best. As a starter, however, he's got to be cognizant of not only how he sets up hitters within an at-bat, but within a game, and that means diversifying the arsenal.

According to PitchFx, Bard entered Wednesday having used his fastball for just 51.7 percent of his pitches this season; he never threw it less often than 67.7 percent as a reliever. Conversely, Bard threw his changeup 0.5 percent of the time in his rookies season of 2009; before facing Baltimore, it accounted for 18.7 percent of his pitches.

Such a drastic change in the way he attacks requires an adjustment — and whenever an adjustment is made, confidence is subject to waver. Whenever confidence wavers, a hurler typically shies away from attacking the strike zone, or fails to repeat his delivery because he's uncomfortable, both of which explain why Bard now has 29 walks compared with 28 strikeouts on the season.

But both of which are to be somewhat expected after his first eight starts in the past five years.

“I feel confident out there, but I'm having trouble repeating the delivery at the same time,” said Bard, who pitched exclusively out of the stretch after the fourth inning to help him get regulated. “It's kind of a little bit of the opposite of the few outings I had before this, where the delivery was pretty much locked in (and) I just wasn't trusting the ball to the middle of the plate. That's where the walks came from.

“But I feel like I'm in a good place.”

The second run came on a solo blast from Nick Johnson, though the initial run Bard allowed Wednesday came after two weak singles and two sacrifice flies in the opening inning. Afterward he talked of that frame as something of a high point, saying he tussled with inconsistency thereafter — but ultimately he won the fight. He did his job. He put the Sox in a position to win.

“I battled as much as I could,” he said, “and I was able to keep them to two runs and keep us in the ballgame.”

And in doing that he — both mentally and physically — took another step toward quieting those who don't see him as a starter.

Dave D'Onofrio covers the Red Sox for the New Hampshire Union Leader and Sunday News. His e-mail address is ddonof13@gmail.com.