Red Sox hurler re-introduces four-seam fastball while striking out 7 in win over Marlins
When the Red Sox skipped starter Brayan Bello’s spot in the rotation, it was in the hopes the young hurler could work on attacking the strike zone and managing his emotions better on the mound.
Red Sox skipper Alex Cora pushed Bello from his start on Sunday to Wednesday night, facing the last-place Marlins. Bello worked on mechanics and came up with an attack plan alongside pitching coach Andrew Bailey to dispose of Miami.
The 25-year-old struck out seven hitters in a season-high 6 2/3 frames in the Red Sox 7-2 win over the Marlins.
“It feels good to be able to have a successful start,” said Bello, through interpreter Carlos Villoria Benítez. “All the work we did in between starts with (Andrew) Bailey paid off.”
During his outing, Bello re-introduced his four-seam fastball to his arsenal, which he hasn’t thrown all season. Under Bailey, Bello abandoned his fastball after it was hit hard by opponents last year. Bello threw his heater 11 times on Wednesday night, maxing it out at 98.4 mph.
“Looking to add the four-seamer back was something we were looking to do at some point in time,” Bailey told reporters, including MassLive’s Chris Cotillo. “Brayan brought it up to us and spoke about how it can help him free up some of the other pitchers a little bit.
“Brayan is not a finished product. None of our guys are. We’ve got to meet them where they’re at and push them when needed. We worked on a few things with the sinker and the changeup. We thought it was the right time to bring the four-seam back. For him to go out and pitch the way he did in a one-run game and hold us there the whole way through was really impressive.”
Bello had a disappointing month of June, posting an 8.25 ERA in five starts. The righty opened the game, allowing three singles and Jesús Sánchez to knock in Jazz Chisholm Jr. for the Marlins’ first run. Bello looked like the same pitcher from June but settled in, retiring 19 of 22 before allowing back-to-back two-out singles in the seventh and leaving the game.
Cora let Bello go into the seventh inning, building his young starters confidence.
“He kept throwing strikes, and that’s the most important thing,” Cora said. “His stuff is really good. He throws hard; he has a changeup and slider. You can see the confidence on the mound. There was no hesitation of him going out for the seventh.”
Bello has an opportunity to build his confidence and face another struggling club in the Athletics to open the Red Sox final homestand before the All-Star break.
“Definitely room to build on, still, from that aspect and from an arsenal standpoint, continuing to develop and string together a couple good outings in a row,” Bailey said. “But very, very proud of him, of course, for going out there ... For him to keep his composure and hold us in that ballgame was very impressive.
“We’ve got to keep going. We hope he strings together a few.”
