Brayan Bello flashed no-hit stuff Saturday night at Camden Yards, boosting the Red Sox in their second straight big win against the first-place Orioles.
Brayan Bello dominated the Orioles for six innings on Saturday night. (AP Photo/Terrance Williams)AP
No, Bello didn’t achieve history against Baltimore’s potent lineup. But he did dominate it for six innings, allowing one run on two hits while striking out six. That was plenty good enough for the Red Sox, who — thanks to a Jarren Duran two-run single and a Rafael Devers two-run homer — won, 5-1.
“Right now, we’re not looking for no-hitters or perfect games,” said manager Alex Cora. “We’re looking for Ws. And that was a big one for us.”
In what was one of his best — and perhaps the most meaningful — starts of Bello’s season, he was sharp from the jump, even if a 76-minute delay pushed first pitch back significantly. He worked a 1-2-3 first, then escaped trouble despite walking two in the second and the leadoff man in the third. He retired 12 in a row before superstar shortstop Gunnar Henderson took him deep in what was the only blemish of the righty’s outing. That mattered little when Bello looked back at what he had accomplished.
“Everything went right from start to finish,” said Bello (through interpreter Daveson Perez). “Everything was working ... Since the beginning, it felt like one of the better outings I’ve thrown this year.”
Bello flashed a fastball that sat in the 93-97 mph range and a changeup-dominant approach, throwing the pitch 29% of the time. He only threw 16 sliders, despite getting swings on eight and whiffs on four. In total, he got 15 swings-and-misses, including eight on the change.
“The changeup was really working and I just didn’t want to change things up because it was going so well,” Bello said.
Bello’s outing continued a quietly solid stretch of outings. It was well-documented that, because of his struggles in June (8.25 ERA in 5 starts), he was unplugged from Boston’s rotation before a good start in Miami on July 3. July was uneven, but better. August, so far, has been elite with Bello allowing just two earned runs in 12 innings over his last two outings; he owns a 3.44 ERA in six starts since the All-Star break while striking out 35 batters in 34 innings.
“He has been throwing the ball well for a while,” Cora said. “The stuff has been there for the last two months. Now, it’s about executing. He did an amazing job.”
Bello’s ERA peaked at 5.55 on June 25, his 14th start of the season. It’s now down to 4.80, not up to expectations, by any means, after the Sox gave him a big contract in spring training, but trending in the right direction.
“The biggest difference between months is that I’m really confident in myself, really confident in the way I’m attacking the strike zone,” Bello said. “I’m attacking the strike zone a lot more now. Overall, just really confident in where I’m at.”
Bello’s big start came at a good time for the Red Sox, who needed eight pitchers to get through a 12-10 win over the Orioles on Friday in a bullpen game started by lefty Brennan Bernardino. Bello dueled with rookie lefty Cade Povich, who held the Sox to two runs on six hits in 6⅓ innings, before giving way to Bernardino in the seventh. Bernardino, Lucas Sims, Chris Martin and Kenley Jansen held Baltimore scoreless as Devers provided insurance with a big blast in the eighth.
The story of the night, unquestionably, was Bello.
“He was really good,” said Cora. “Velocity was up, action of the changeup was good. Kept them off balance. I haven’t looked at the numbers but I do believe we used the sinker more tonight than in previous outings. Obviously, they’re gonna make adjustments and he’s gonna make adjustments but what he did tonight, that was fun.
“He beat them to the spot with the sinker and the four-seamer. He used his four-seamer very effectively today. The changeup was great. Not too many sliders, I don’t believe. (Danny) Jansen and Brayan were locked it, it seems. A little bit different than in the past. You have to do that against good teams.”
