It’s been night and day for Brayan Bello with the Boston Red Sox this season. When he starts, he’s gotten lit up, but when he has an opener, then he’s thrived.
So, it was a bit of a surprise when Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy announced Bello would start in a rubber match against the Baltimore Orioles. However, there was some logic to the decision, which Tracy touched on before Thursday’s game.
“It just feels like for us to be successful, we need Bello to start,” Tracy said, being quoted by Christopher Smith. “I mean, we’ve beat a dead horse with this. Like, we start him, it doesn’t go well. The opener doesn’t do well. Why did you open? At the end of the day, we need this guy to pitch. We had him in an outing against the Guardians where he faced eight lefties. He’s worked very hard in between starts over the last couple weeks to work on arm slot and different things to solve for lefties.”
Going into play on Tuesday, Bello had seven traditional starts. In those previous seven starts, he’s rocking a 9.68 ERA, allowed 10 home runs, and walked 18 batters. When he’s had an opener, it’s 0.71 ERA, without any home runs allowed, and just three walks.
The problem, as Tracy noted, is that the openers have all struggled. In each game Bello has had an opener, the opener has given up at least one run. Typically, it’s been multiple runs.
“We gotta put him out there,” Tracy said. “There’s no clear answer for that and he’s gotta go out there and pitch.”
Brayan Bello Had a Traditional Start Against the Baltimore Orioles
GettyBoston Red Sox pitcher Brayan Bello
The Boston Red Sox sent Brayan Bello to the mound for a day game on Thursday. Immediately, the Orioles met him with a double from Taylor Ward on the first pitch of the game. It was hard not to imagine the issue was the lack of an opener.
Things got worse from there for Bello in the first inning. He’d hit a batter, then it was an RBI single. A double play ball on the next at-bat was a massive relief, but the Orioles got back to it and added another run before loading up the bases. Coby Mayo then cleared the bases with a double off the Green Monster. At that point, NESN showed he had an updated ERA of 16.43 in the first inning.
It got worse from there. In his second hit of the inning, Ward drove in another run on a single. Then, Gunnar Henderson dribbled a ball that Willson Contreras dropped trying to tag him, before Contreras grabbed his arm like it was injured. Still, that reloaded the bases for Baltimore, the second time in the first inning, before Bello finally got out of it.
Still, it was 6-0 before the Red Sox took an at-bat. Bello had once again had a blow-up start for the Red Sox.
Red Sox broadcaster Lou Merloni was critical of his early cutter usage, as a pitch he struggles with. However, he also admitted he didn’t know what was different about starting for Bello compared to coming in as a reliever, be it mental or his preparation.
Bello would return to the mound for the second inning. Nothing mattered after that first inning, though, as he once again proved he is struggling in starts beyond what this Red Sox team can consistently bounce back from.
The Red Sox are Committed to Bello Long-Term
GettyBoston Red Sox pitcher Brayan Bello
Part of the problem for the Red Sox is that they’re committed to Bello for the long run. At one point, their Opening Day starter, the Red Sox gave him a long-term extension that keeps him with the club through at least 2029. There’s also a club option for 2030.
That contract is also going to be paying Bello about $9.1 million per year. That’s not a small amount of money to move for multiple years, particularly if he’s struggling as a starting pitcher.
In other words, the Red Sox are committed to Bello for a while. So, finding a way to make it work as a starter matters.
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