Bryan Bullington's first Triple-A start brought him back to the state where he excelled in high school and college as a former Indiana "Mr. Baseball" and one of Ball State's most decorated pitchers in school history. Bullington pitched a 5-1 loss in his first game for the Indianapolis Indians last week against the Richmond Braves.
Bullington completed 83 pitches in six innings, a large amount considering it was his first game back from five weeks of rehabilitating his right shoulder. Bullington said his shoulder was a non-issue.
"From the health standpoint, everything was fine, so it was good to get out there and be able to get through six innings," he said.
During his performance on the mound, Bullington threw 53 strikes and gave up seven hits and three runs.
Bullington, who was picked first in the 2002 draft by Pittsburgh, seemed to handle himself well, according to Indian's manager Trent Jewett.
"I think he did alright. It looked like he kept his poise," Jewett said. "He seemed to handle all the fanfare well."
Through the first three innings of play, Bullington was in near-perfect form, allowing only three hits and holding the Braves scoreless.
He started the fourth inning by throwing his first strike out of the season. However, one out later, Bullington gave up a solo home run to Richmond's Andy Barkett.
Bullington then gave up a two-run homer to Kelly Johnson in the fifth, giving Richmond a 3-0 lead. After retiring all three batters in order during the sixth, Bullington was pulled from the game.
Bullington felt the two home runs he gave up were the reasons for the loss.
"Obviously, you're going to make mistakes in every game, but you've got to make quality pitches in situations, and I didn't do that today," Bullington said. "I made two crucial mistakes, and it cost me the game."
Fanfare surrounded the game because of his first hometown start, but he did not let it affect his play.
"I really didn't look at it as being this big event," Bullington said. "I felt normal out there. I wasn't worried about who was in the stands."
After being drafted in 2002, Bullington split time during the 2003 season with Low-A Hickory (N.C.) and High-A Lynchburg (Va.). Last year, he played for Double-A Altoona (Pa.), where he posted a 12-7 record and a 4.10 ERA.
Although he was drafted top of his class, Bullington never expected an easy road.
"I expected when I got drafted that I would play Single-A ball for a year and Double-A for a year," he said. "I don't feel like I'm behind."
Bullington's manager knows the road will not get any easier.
"It's not going to get easy at any point," Jewett said. "There's a lot of work to get done."
Bullington starts his second game of the season today at 11 a.m. against Norfolk at Victory Field.
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