Blue Jays get early jump on Brayan Bello in series opener and Red Sox come up empty in sixth straight loss

Boston Globe

7 hours ago

The Sox lineup lacked a single player with an OPS of .800 or better who can carry them, and was weighted down by four hitters with an OPS under .600. The result? The team managed just four hits, and has now managed only 28 runs over 10 games since the Devers deal. Friday night marked the second time since the trade that the club has been shut out, and the sixth that it was held to fewer than three runs — a nearly impossible formula for victory.
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The Red Sox played from behind the entire game, as Brayan Bello's season continued to puzzle. The Red Sox need him to emerge as a mid-rotation force in order to remain afloat with a thinned post-Devers lineup, and the 26-year-old had shown recent progress in that regard entering Friday.
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In his prior two starts, Bello had allowed three runs (one earned) while striking out 14 in 13 innings. Those outings offered a reminder of his ingredients to be a solid No. 3 or 4 starter.
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Yet inconsistent execution this year has made it difficult for Bello to cement that status — particularly in one situation that should serve as a prelude to dominance.
Bello's inability to generate consistent swing-and-miss stuff and put hitters away has made him vulnerable even after putting hitters in 0-2 holes. Entering Friday, opponents were hitting .348/.388/.522 against him after falling into such counts — a worst-in-baseball departure from the league-wide average of .164/.198/.248.
That shortcoming continued in costly fashion against the Blue Jays. In the first inning, Bello got two quick outs but then allowed a single to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. After getting ahead of Alejandro Kirk, 0-2, Bello issued a nine-pitch walk to the catcher — a reflection of both Bello's inability to miss bats and Kirk's remarkable batting skill. George Springer followed by lining an RBI single to center field, putting the Red Sox in a 1-0 hole in what eventually became a 30-pitch first inning.
In the second, Bello put leadoff hitter Ernie Clement in an 0-2 hole — and eventually walked him. Clement came around to score. One inning later, Clement singled home another run to put the Blue Jays ahead, 3-0, after three innings.
That was all that Bello allowed over his 104 pitches (60 for strikes; 58 percent rate). He settled in to give the Sox six innings, allowing the three runs on eight hits (all singles) while walking three.
The outing marked Bello's fifth straight quality start, a span during which he has a 2.87 ERA — a solid stretch, and one during which he's been able to keep the Sox in games even as they claw for runs. Still, his one strikeout of a Blue Jay offered a reminder that there's another level for the pitcher to unlock.
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Dominance by Bello might not have been enough to alter this outcome, partly because the bullpen behind him faceplanted while allowing six runs after Bello's egress (two charged to Luis Guerrero in the seventh, and a four-run, four-walk albatross hung upon Brennan Bernardino in the eighth), and more significantly, because the lineup once again looked like warm butter to the sharp knife of an opposing pitcher.
Berríos cruised through seven scoreless innings in just 91 pitches. He allowed just four hits, walked one, and struck out eight. Just two Red Sox baserunners reached second base, none after the fifth inning. The team is hitting .184 in its last 10 contests.
Alex Speier can be reached at