This past weekend, the Red Sox fought tooth and nail to earn a series win over the Yankees in the Bronx. Boston had lost three straight series and had been spiraling out of playoff contention. Taking 2-of-3 from the Yankees in June gives fans some hope they may be able to right the ship.
One main reason for that hope was the starting pitching efforts the Sox received from Garrett Whitlock, Tanner Houck and Brayan Bello.
The Sox trio combined to allow five runs in 19 1/3 innings against the Yankees. Additionally, they posted a 2.33 ERA this weekend and that should not be scoffed at by fans, no matter where the Sox are in the standings.
Of the three starters this weekend, Bello’s start was the most impressive and arguably the most important. He kept the Sox in the game, despite his offense being out to lunch for the majority of the evening.
I should pump the breaks a little bit. I'd be remised if I didn't acknowledge that the Bronx Bombers are without Aaron Judge. He was placed on the injured list after spraining his toe slamming into the wall at Dodger Stadium. There is no timetable for the reigning AL MVP to return, which was perfect for the Sox. The All-Star’s absence from the Yankees lineup was glaring and the Sox pitching staff took advantage.
Boston held Anthony Rizzo hitless in the series, and he is now 0-for-22 in his last six games. Giancarlo Stanton was 1-for-7 with one strikeout, collecting his only hit in the series opener. Josh Donaldson had one homer in the series, which was his only hit, the Sox held the “Bringer of Rain” 1-for-11 with three punchouts over the weekend. DJ LeMahieu finished 3-for-11 but provided no other real support for the Yanks lineup.
“From my end,” said Alex Cora, “to come here with those three kids and pitch the way they did, hopefully we can build off of this. That was really good by Whit, by Tanner and by Bello. That was impressive. Obviously, we need to pitch to get back (into contention); the offense is going to be OK. It’s just a matter of time to get good at-bats and get people healthy.
“But I’m impressed the way (the young starters) went about it over the three days. That was fun to watch. In this scenario, against a good team, they grew up a lot in these three days.”
Bello’s performance on Sunday night was outstanding. The right-hander tossed strong seven innings giving up only three hits and two earned runs. The only two runs came off Jose Trevino's ground ball up the middle that kicked off the second base bag in the second inning.
For Bello, the seven innings he threw last night matched a season high (5/23 vs. Angels). He threw 98 pitches in the outing, 33 sinkers, 28 changeups, 21 four-seam fastballs and 16 sliders. Bello threw 46 of those in the strike zone, 44 swings and 7 whiffs. The majority of the swings (18) came against his changeup.
The 24-year-old has been making adjustments with his changeup for Sunday’s start. He has been working on a new grip to reduce the velocity on the pitch allowing him to pair it with his four-seam fastball to keep opposing hitters guessing.
His changeup speed dropped to 85 mph from 88-89 it typically sits at, according to Baseball Savant.
“That difference throws you off as a hitter,” said Cora, “and the action (on the changeup) is very similar to the sinker and you saw a lot of swings and misses on that one.”
Bello’s performance on Sunday night didn’t go unnoticed by his teammates, Kike Hernández had praise for the young hurler postgame.
“Somebody his age could have very easily gotten distracted,” said Hernández to reporters postgame. “But he didn’t lose focus. We should have gotten out of the inning instead of giving up two runs. But he just kept pitching.”
In his last 8 starts, Brayan Bello has a 2.80 ERA (14 ER/45.0 IP).
— J.P. Long (@SoxNotes) June 12, 2023
5.0 IP, 1 ER
5.0 IP, 2 ER
6.0 IP, 2 ER
5.0 IP, 1 ER
7.0 IP, 2 ER
4.0 IP, 1 ER
6.0 IP, 3 ER
7.0 IP, 2 ER
He has allowed 0 HR in his last 3 starts (and in his last 19.0 innings).
Bello has made tremendous strides this season, during the month of May, he allowed eight earned runs in 27 innings of work. Making six starts, he went five or more innings in five of those starts. The only game he struggled in during that stretch was against the Reds where he last four innings.
The right-hander struck out 27 batters over that span while walking nine (five versus the Mariners on 5/17), he overall was good with seven punchouts.
The moral of the story: Bello is developing into a big-league starter and is getting better each time on the mound.
“This is who we believe the kid is,” Hernández said. “He’s a kid who came into the league last year with all the hype in the world and struggled for a little bit. But it seemed like he got better with every start. This year, he didn’t really get a spring training and had to basically go through spring training in the regular season. The first couple of outings weren’t really what he wanted.
“This year, it’s the same story as last year — every time he takes the mound, it seems like he gets better,” Hernández continued. “I think he’s very mature, beyond his (years).”
With the loss of Chris Sale, the Sox will need Whitlock, Houck and Bello to fill the void. If James Paxton continues to make progress in each start, he struck out nine batters in his last outing against the Guardians, Boston might be able to stay afloat.
At some point the Sox bats will start to hit again, coupled with quality starts from Whitlock, Houck, Bello and Paxton the team can begin to claw their way out of the basement in the American League East and back into the Wild Card hunt.