As reporters approached Brennan Bernardino’s locker after he delivered in a big spot for the Red Sox on Wednesday, he joked it was nice to be getting questions about a positive development after weeks of negative ones.
Brennan Bernardino struck out Yordan Alvarez in a big moment for the Red Sox on Wednesday. (Photo by Logan Riely/MLB Photos via Getty Images)MLB Photos via Getty Images
Bernardino, who entered the day with a 9.58 second-half ERA and had been demoted to the minors, albeit briefly, last week, had the signature moment on a day when Boston’s bullpen shut down Houston’s offense in a big rubber game win. With manager Alex Cora limiting starter Cooper Criswell to two times through the order in 4 ⅓ innings, the Red Sox needed 13 outs from their much-maligned bullpen. The biggest came in the bottom of the seventh.
Recent call-up Greg Weissert loaded the bases, allowing two singles and a walk, before getting Alex Bregman to pop out for the second out of the inning. Then came Yordan Alvarez, who despite crushing both lefties and the Red Sox all season, Boston would have to try to find a way to get out. At that point, Cora turned to Bernardino with the crowd of 31,954 at Minute Maid Park on the edges of their seats.
Bernardino greeted Alvarez with a sinker off the plate he fouled off, got a called strike two on a sinker in the zone and then ripped off a sharp curveball that landed way outside to end the at-bat and the threat. Good morning, good afternoon — and good night.
“That’s what you live for, those situations, ever since you’re a kid,” said Bernardino. “Bases loaded, big game. It was fun to get in there.”
Bernardino was one of six Sox relievers Cora used with closer Kenley Jansen unavailable after pitching back-to-back days. Zack Kelly got Bregman out to end the fifth and Josh Winckowski worked around a hit to pitch a scoreless sixth. Weissert’s day wasn’t a good one but Bernardino saved him. Struggling trade deadline addition Luis García pitched a clean inning (1-2-3 on 10 pitches) for the second straight day before Chris Martin locked down his first save of the year in Jansen’s place.
“We kept going and going, mixing and matching until it was bases loaded, two outs against the big boy,” Cora said. “We have Weissert here because we felt like we only needed one lefty. We only needed one out from the lefty and Bernie did an amazing job.”
In all, Boston’s bullpen allowed four hits and while recording five strikeouts in 4 ⅓ shutout innings in a game they led by one or two runs before David Hamilton provided insurance with a solo blast in the ninth. It was a continuation of Tuesday’s effort, when the relief corps allowed one hit in four shutout innings behind Nick Pivetta in what turned into a 6-5 defeat. The progress has been tangible over the last 48 hours for a group that entered Tuesday with a 6.93 reliever ERA in 115 ⅔ innings and a league-leading 12 blown saves.
“We cancel the noise,” said Cora. “We don’t listen. We just keep working. Last weekend was tough because we had a bullpen game on Saturday and Pax (James Paxton) got hurt. The guys, they pitched a lot. We pushed some guys to the limit and we paid the price.
“Today, they did an amazing job. We’re going to trust them. Bullpens, they struggle for a week and then give us 15 good outings. That’s what we’re trying to accomplish here.”
Boston’s bullpen was a strength in the first half behind solid performances from Jansen, rookie Justin Slaten, Kelly, Bernardino and others. But with two key pieces (Slaten and Martin) out in July, the house of cards collapsed for a long period of time. Now, Martin is back and dominating as second fiddle to Jansen at the end of games. Slaten and three-time All-Star Liam Hendriks are both on rehab assignments and will provide big boosts when they return in the coming weeks. Cora feels confident his pitching staff is gaining momentum after a road trip that saw, in large part, good work from the rotation.
“Guys have to step up and do their job. We can not rely on three guys in the bullpen,” he said.
The Red Sox, despite a couple sloppy performances in Baltimore over the weekend and a crushing, walk-off loss in the series opener in Houston, found a way to finish a road trip against two first-place teams with a winning record (4-3).
“It feels like things are turning around,” Bernardino said. “We’re just going to keep going, trying to execute pitches. It was really great to see a big team effort.
“It’s a big deal, especially the way things have been going. We know it’s that time of year where it’s sink or swim. We’re trying to swim.”
The Red Sox will be either 2½ or 3½ games out of a playoff spot when they take the field Friday against Arizona.
“My job here is to cancel the noise but I listen and I know where we’re at and how to use the noise to our advantage. We had a great road trip. A great road trip.
