Step 1 a success for Bierbrodt

CHARLESTON, S.C. -- The road back to St. Petersburg for Nick Bierbrodt began here Wednesday night.

The 24-year-old left-hander, projected as the Rays' No. 4 starter, made his first official appearance of the season after inexplicably losing his control during spring training. Finding the plate was not a problem in his return with the Class A RiverDogs: He threw 82 pitches in a five-inning stint, 51 of them strikes.

"It was good to be out there pitching again in a real game," Bierbrodt said. "Basically, I approached this as a spring training game where you don't worry about what the results are. I just wanted to throw as many strikes as possible. In that regard, I was pretty happy with the way things went.

"Hopefully, I'm starting to get back to where I was before this all happened. Mechanically, I just lost it, sort of like forgetting how to ride a bike."

Bierbrodt allowed five hits and four runs, two earned, to the Greensboro Bats. He struck out two, walked two and threw a wild pitch.

"I wasn't all that sharp, and I left a lot of pitches over the middle of the plate, but right now my main concern is to throw strikes and build up my pitch count," he said. "I'll be out working in the bullpen between starts."

Bierbrodt said he is not even thinking about a return to Tampa Bay.

"The Devil Rays have been great through all of this, and I appreciate the patience they have shown me. They said I could have two starts here, or stay as long as I need to," he said. "I'll know when the time comes, and I'm not about to rush things."

Charleston pitching coach Xavier Hernandez was impressed with Bierbrodt's performance.

"I didn't see any indication of control problems tonight," the former big-league pitcher said. "Nick threw four quality pitches with movement, and he kept them down in the zone."

Bierbrodt's next scheduled start is Tuesday.