Red Sox’ Chad Tracy sticking with Brayan Bello as struggles mount — but for how much longer?

The Red Sox say they’re committed to Brayan Bello, at least publicly.

Bello is expected to make his next start, largely due to a lack of pitching depth with both Garrett Crochet and Sonny Gray on the injured list.

The question now: will interim manager Chad Tracy stick with him and run Bello back out there?

“I’m planning on that, yes,” Tracy said to the media before the game on Friday night.

Bello is coming off back-to-back rough outings that have seen his ERA balloon to 9.12. Based on his performance, he’s a prime candidate to be removed from the rotation, whether that means a reset in Triple-A Worcester or a move to the bullpen.

In his most recent start in Toronto, Bello was hit hard, allowing four earned runs on six hits with two walks and four strikeouts. Tracy had seen enough, pulling him after just 63 pitches. 

As Tracy made his way to the mound, Bello shook his head in frustration, whether at his performance or the early hook from his skipper.

“Brayan knows, when the manager comes, that’s it,” Tracy said, “but again, he doesn’t want to come out of the game, and I expect that with a pitcher.”

“Obviously I was upset,” Bello said via the team translator after his last start. “I haven’t been able to pitch well in the past few. I haven’t been able to pitch deep into games.”

The righty clarified that his reaction wasn’t directed at Tracy. “I was very upset with myself,” he said.

Bello’s visible frustration has also been building, which also included an outburst in Baltimore, where he endured arguably the worst outing of his career. 

He allowed five home runs, three in the first inning, along with 13 hits, recording just 10 outs. The Orioles barreled nine balls at 100 mph or harder, and Bello exited with Boston trailing 8-1 in the fourth. Afterward, he took out his frustration on a bucket of bubble gum.

So far this season, Bello has allowed 26 earned runs on 43 hits with 15 walks over 25 2/3 innings, while striking out 25. Opposing hitters are batting .374 against him, the worst mark among pitchers with more than 10 innings pitched.

Meanwhile, Gray threw a three-inning live batting practice at Fenway Park. The veteran said he felt good and believes he could face big league hitters right now.

“That was good,” Gray said after tossing live batting practice. “I felt pretty good. It’s what I do. I love to pick up the baseball and I love to throw it. So that was fun. I enjoyed it. I feel like that was good volume. It wasn’t a ton of time completely off from throwing, so my body doesn’t feel like it got left behind.

“The good part about this when this happened is just being self-aware, (knowing I) did have a strain, which I knew. But then, being able to still work through it. Fortunately, it wasn’t something where I had to sit there and completely rest and not get on your feet for a couple of weeks. So that was good. I would feel comfortable and confident getting into a game (soon).”

Gray could come off the injured list next Wednesday, and the Sox would