PITTSBURGH -- With a home run surrendered in each of his last two appearances entering Sunday, Pirates reliever Antonio Bastardo hasn't been precise recently, and it's not going unnoticed.
Bastardo, who Pittsburgh acquired in a trade from the Phillies in December, hasn't been the normally reliable left-hander he was in Philadelphia. After serving up the game-winning homer in Wednesday's 13-inning loss to the Twins, Bastardo allowed another on Saturday in cleanup duty in the Pirates' 8-2 win over the Mets.
"He's worked through some situations where he wasn't as sharp as we've seen in the past," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said.