Red Sox recap: Brayan Bello fails to reach 5 innings in third straight start; Rafael Devers' grand slam not enough as Boston drops 2 of 3 to the Braves

Rafael Devers' walk-off home run in the ninth inning propelled the Red Sox to their best win of the season over the Braves on Saturday night. Less than 24 hours later, Boston had the opportunity to build some significant momentum in the rubber match with Atlanta on Sunday afternoon.

Instead, Brayan Bello (2-1) put together a ghastly pitching performance, failing to get through five innings, giving up seven runs on 10 hits with five walks, while striking out three in the Sox’ 10-4 loss to the Braves. Bello has gone three straight starts in which he’s failed to throw at least five innings, and he’s walked 12 batters over that stretch (13 2/3 innings).

Bello entered Sunday’s afternoon start with a 2.33 ERA in five starts, coupled with an ugly 5.54 FIP and a 5.17 expected ERA. The righty threw 92 pitches, 52 for strikes (56.5%). Bello has now had back-to-back outings in which he threw exactly 92 pitches.

He now has pitched in three games where he has given up seven runs or more. The last outing he imploded and gave up seven or more runs was last June against the Blue Jays.

One main reason Bello was ineffective on the mound Sunday was that he could not induce swings and misses with his changeup, as he threw the pitch 20 times but only generated two whiffs from 10 swings.

“My changeup is my second-best pitch, and I haven’t been able to locate it, so for me that’s a big issue,” Bello said after the game via interpreter Carlos Villoria Benítez. “That’s the pitch I use for strikeouts and for hitters to chase, and when I don’t have it, it’s very hard.”

Prior to the game on Sunday, Alex Cora summarized Bello’s season thus far, which also included a challenge to his pitcher.

“We need to be more aggressive in the strike zone,” Cora said. “97 pitches in five innings is not efficient. All these guys tell you, ‘No, I’ve got 100 pitches.’ ‘Yeah, it’s 100 over six. Over five means there’s a lot of traffic, and we have to be aggressive with the bullpen. So we expect him to go out there and give us six or seven, be aggressive with his stuff; if he can do that, he’s going to be ok.”

Bello failed to meet his skipper's challenge and quickly got into trouble by allowing two singles and a walk at the start of the game. He was able to limit the damage, only allowing two runs in the inning on an RBI single off the bat of Drake Baldwin and a run-scoring groundout by Ozzie Albies.

Atlanta added another run to the scoreboard in the third on a Matt Olson double followed by a Marcel Ozuna single, making it 3-0.

After the Braves went up 3-0 in the third inning, the Red Sox loaded the bases, and Devers came through again, hitting a towering grand slam into the center field bleachers to put the Sox on top 4-3.

It was the first grand slam by a Red Sox batter this season and the first since Luis Urias hit one against Yankees ace Gerrit Cole on Aug. 19, 2023. That drought of 638 days between grand slams was the club’s longest since going 664 days between slams between 1952 and 1954, and it was the club’s seventh-longest drought of the past century, according to Elias.

Devers went 2-for-4 with a double, a homer, a run scored, and four RBI. His third-inning slam was his sixth of his career and first at Fenway Park since April 8, 2023. The left-handed slugger also set a season high in RBI and it was his 23rd career game with at least four RBI or more.

He has gone 15-for-35 (.429) with three home runs, three doubles, and 13 RBIs since principal owner John Henry flew to Kansas City to meet with Devers.

The Sox lineup gave Bello a lead to work with and desperately needed the hurler to get into a groove and shut down Atlanta’s lineup. The Braves loaded the bases again in the fifth, and Cora had no one warming in the bullpen. He then allowed an RBI single to Eli White and a sacrifice fly to Nick Allen before Cora decided to remove Bello.

Sean Newcomb walked Alex Verdugo immediately out of the bullpen to load the bases again but was saved by Alex Bregman, who made a magnificent diving play on a hard liner off the bat of Austin Riley and turned a double play to end the threat.

Newcomb finished the game for Boston, allowing three runs on six hits, two walks, and four strikeouts over the last 4.2 innings.

Braves starter Spencer Schwellenbach allowed four runs off six hits and one walk, striking out three. He threw 55 of 81 pitches for strikes. He improved his record to 3-3 and only allowed just two more hits following Devers’ grand slam before leaving the game with a 7-4 lead. Ozuna added a two-run homer that cleared the Green Monster in a three-run eighth inning. 

Outside of Devers, the Red Sox lineup managed four hits in the final six innings after scoring four runs in the third. David Hamilton went 2-for-4 with a double and a stolen base. Hamilton is 41-for-45 in stolen base attempts since the beginning of the 2024 season.

“We’ve got to finish innings, we’ve got to finish at-bats, we’ve got to get better,” Cora said postgame. “Does it feel like we’re way off? No, but it’s another loss in the column.”

Boston will open a three-game series against the Mets beginning on Monday. Cora will not manage the club and be in attendance to watch his daughter graduate from Boston College. Hunter Dobbins (2-1, 3.90 ERA) will open the series and face Mets ace Kodai Senga (4-2, 1.02 ERA).

The Red Sox will get a boost to the rotation this week with Walker Buehler returning off the injured list, and he is expected to pitch on Tuesday night. Outside of Garrett Crochet, the Sox’ rotation has been unreliable, and Cora needs his starters to improve drastically.

“They need to step up; that’s the bottom line. We have to step up as a rotation,” Cora said. “It’s not only Garrett; it’s everybody. We have to do a better job as a group.”