ST. LOUIS — Homer Bailey may not be at 100 percent just yet, but he was at least happy to be back on the mound.
The Cincinnati right-hander made his season debut following surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon, pitching into the sixth inning Saturday as the Reds lost to the St. Louis Cardinals 5-2.
Bailey gave up five runs and nine hits in 5 2-3 innings.
"Early on, I thought I made some pretty good pitches that got hit," he said. "They put some pretty good swings on them."
Cincinnati manager Bryan Price said Bailey is "right where he needs to be" at this point in his comeback effort.