Red Sox notes: Tyler Thornburg impresses in first bullpen session; 3 things to know from 4-3 win

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- It was a busy morning on the practice mounds behind the Red Sox clubhouse at Fenway South Wednesday.

Both Steven Wright and Eduardo Rodriguez, each recovering from knee surgeries, threw off a mound briefly, and David Price had a regularly scheduled side session.

But perhaps the most noteworthy development was the bullpen thrown by Tyler Thornburg, who missed all of last season and is coming back from thoracic outlet syndrome surgery. The session marked the first time that he's thrown since early last season, and though it consisted of just 20 fastballs, it was judged a success.

"He threw with conviction,'' said manager Alex Cora. "It was pretty special.''

"Pretty darn good,'' Thornburg said when asked how the experience felt. "It was one of those feelings that you realize you miss a lot when you don't do it for a year. I'd say anytime you're exactly getting on a normal progression, where you can actually start planning things out, it's a lot better -- physically, mentally, everything really. So yeah, it felt good. It felt like I could have thrown more, which is probably one of the better feelings you can have afterwards.

"Now, it's pretty much, do what we can. You always want to push it, but you try to stay with a relatively normal progression.''

Thornburg, who estimated he threw at about 80 percent effort, will now wait for a couple of days before throwing again and see how he responds and recovers.

"We'll play that part by ear, as far how many days in between and how many pitches I throw,'' said Thornburg. "Then, maybe after two or three (bullpens), start talking about whether I jump to a live BP. It's pretty much (dependent on) how I feel. Like I said, we're going to push the issue if I can.

"But I'm real excited about how I feel. I feel like I could throw in a game right now. There was really no restriction."

Thornburg, when he's healthy, will be part of a group of power arms the Sox will use in high-leverage spots, joined by Matt Barnes, Carson Smith and Joe Kelly.

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THREE THINGS FROM RED SOX' 4-3 WIN OVER PITTSBURGH

Box score

Brad Netzer had himself a memorable day: The Red Sox' third-round pick out of UNC-Charlotte last June smacked a game-winning, two-run, come-from-behind double in the seventh inning, giving the Red Sox a 4-3 victory. That would have been a great experience in itself, but making it more special was the fact that his father, Drew, who has been battling cancer for the last four years, was at the ballpark to witness his son's heroics.

Joe Kelly was throwing like it was June, not February: Kelly flashed his usual high-velocity fastballs, but also nicely mixed in some changeups and curveballs and kept Pirates hitters' off-balance with a scoreless fourth inning.

Hector Velazquez can't afford another outing like the one he had Wednesday: Velazquez is battling Brian Johnson and Roenis Elias for the fifth spot in the rotation -- at least to begin the year -- but had a rocky outing. He was knocked around for five hits and three runs in 2.1 innings. He also issued a walk. One poor outing won't disqualify anyone at this point, but for someone involved in a competition, every trip to the mound represents an opportunity and Velazquez wasted his Wednesday.