ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Red Sox reliever Daniel Bard made his postseason debut Thursday night when he entered the game in the bottom of the eighth inning with the Angels leading, 5-0. The 24-year-old retired the side in order when he struck out Jeff Mathis, got Erick Aybar to ground out and then struck out Chone Figgins.

While Bard was disappointed with the loss, he was thrilled with the opportunity.

"It was fun. It was probably good for me to get my feet wet, and I’m still available for Game Two," said Bard. "I got a taste for what that [postseason] atmosphere is like and it’s a lot of fun. It was nice to shut the place up a little bit. It was loud and those fans here give a little different atmosphere than it was back in May when I made my debut here. It was pretty cool and it’s special to be a part of it."

Bard began the season with the PawSox and was promoted to Boston on May 10. Soon after that, he threw two scoreless innings at Angel Stadium in his first major-league appearance.

Red Sox manager Terry Francona eased the young flame thrower into his big-league career by mostly using him in non-pressure situations. That changed once Bard proved he could handle the big leagues, both mentally and physically.

He said he wasn’t nervous about appearing in the postseason.

"Not really. It felt like a normal outing for me," he said. "Except the added crowd noise, and the fact we were down 5-0, made it a little bit different. I haven’t been thrown into that type of situation of late, but it was a good opportunity for me to get a taste of what it was like."

Bard finished the regular season with a 2-2 record and a 3.65 ERA in 49 relief appearances for the Red Sox. He struck out 63 and walked only 22 in 49 1/3 innings of work. He was equally impressive on Thursday.

"He threw the ball great," said Red Sox catcher Victor Martinez. "He was pretty aggressive jumping ahead of the hitters and a guy like him who throws that hard, when he gets ahead of the hitters he’s pretty tough to hit. He was able to work all of his pitches."

Jmcdonal@projo.com