Daniel Bard "feels awful" for fracturing Jose Altuve's thumb with a wild pitch in the WBC

After Colorado Rockies pitcher Daniel Bard struck José Altuve with a fastball that fractured his thumb during Saturday's World Baseball Classic quarterfinal game against Venezuela, his performance was made even more challenging.

Despite his team's win, Bard expressed regret over the wild pitch, hoping that the former MVP would soon be able to return to the field.

"I feel terrible," Bard told Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY. "I was going sinker in for a swing. I missed up and in. You just hate to see it. You saw my reaction.

"He's a great player. You want to see great players on the field, even if I have to play against him. I want to play against the best. I wish him, hopefully, a quick recovery. I know it will be a minute.''

Jose Altuve likely to undergo a surgery

Altuve will undergo surgery to fix a fracture in his right thumb in the coming days, according to the Houston Astros, and will likely miss at least two months of activity while he recovers, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.

World Baseball Classic Quarterfinals: United States vs. Venezuela

The wheels fell off, and Andrés Giménez was never the same, according to Team USA manager Mark DeRosa.

“I made the pitch, but I needed him to hit it harder,’’ Bard said. “If I could have sneaked my way into two outs and nobody on, I probably would have relaxed a bit and made some better pitches. When it didn’t happen, I kind of went the other way.

“I was just working through a few things, which was like normal spring training things in a lot of ways, but you’re doing it on a stage where there’s room for error. You’re trying to force adjustments rather than letting things happen.’’