ANAHEIM, Calif. — In the grand scheme of things in the Red Sox’ 5-0 loss to the Angels in the opening game of the teams’ American League Division Series, Thursday night, it didn’t seem all that important.

With the Red Sox already trailing, 5-0, Daniel Bard came on to pitch the eighth inning. He faced three batters, striking out two and throwing just 11 pitches.

More importantly, Bard got his first postseason experience out of the way without incident.

“Not really,” said the rookie reliever when asked if the outing felt any different. “I didn’t have any extra butterflies or anything like that. It was like a normal outing, just maybe a little louder when I was warming up. A little more intense atmosphere. But once you get out there it feels the same. You’ve got the same job and you just try to keep that in mind.”

The outing might offer a payoff for the Red Sox down the road. Not only did the limited number of pitches presumably make Bard available for action Friday night, but he would be pitching without the obstacles that can be presented to first-time playoff participants.

“It’s the same game,” Bard said. “The only thing that’s changed is the stage you’re on. It’s easier said than done.”