Brayan Bello gave the Red Sox four scoreless innings Friday and helped them beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 9-4, a strong outing in a role that has become anything but routine. He had not pitched since July 22, and the work came as Boston kept leaning on a bullpen that has been carrying a heavy load.
That is why Bello is being searched now: he has moved from the rotation to an irregular relief role, and he has handled it better than almost anyone expected. Since being called back up on July 12, he has allowed one earned run over 13 2/3 innings in three appearances, lowering his ERA for the season from 6.34 to 5.30. On Friday, he even escaped a bases-loaded jam in the sixth inning, the kind of spot that can turn a clean night into damage in one pitch.
Chad Tracy said the bullpen is “heavily used and a little beat up right now,” and Bello’s performance bought the relievers a night off during a stretch in which the team has been grinding through 16 games in a row. The Red Sox have seen him in a different light since his return from Triple-A, but the result has been the same: he keeps getting outs, even after a season that had already gone badly enough to cost him his rotation job.
Bello said the long gaps between outings have changed what his fastball looks like. With nine days between appearances, he said he is throwing 96-97 and feels very good right now. That does not make the adjustment simple. He was built as a starter, used to working every five days, and now his schedule depends on how the game and the bullpen line up around him.
The next question is not whether Bello can help. He already has. Tracy said the club has talked about whether Bello could start again over the next three weeks, though he stressed it is not a guarantee. For now, Bello has done enough to keep the conversation alive, and enough to make the Red Sox think harder about what kind of arm he should be when their schedule opens up.
