Red Sox' Brayan Bello explains what would be ‘very disappointing' — and what matters to him
Fifteen months later, Garrett Crochet clearly holds the title.
Bello, however, is quietly developing into a second top of the rotation starter for Boston. He's 4-2 with a 2.61 ERA in his past eight outings (51 ⅔ innings).
Bello made it clear he's not concerned with titles when asked if he'd eventually like to be considered a second ace with Crochet.
'It doesn't matter for me if I'm the No. 1 or No. 2 pitcher,' Bello said through translator Carlos Villoria Benítez. 'As long as I'm in their rotation in the World Series, I'm good. It would be very disappointing for me to go to the World Series and I'm not starting a game in the rotation.'
Bello will make his first start of the second half against the Cubs here at Wrigley Field on Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for 7:15 p.m., eastern.
'My main goal is to help the team win a World Series,' he said.
The 26-year-old righty failed to complete five innings in any of his five starts from May 8-28. But he has pitched six or more innings in seven of his past eight games. That includes tossing his first career complete game July 8 against the Rockies.
'I think the biggest change for me and the key for my success has been throwing strikes,' Bello said. 'I've been able to throw, most of the starts, about 60-65% strikes.'
Bello's strike percentage has steadily improved from 58% in his first eight starts to 65% in his past eight outings, peaking at 69% in three July appearances.
'So for me, that's one of the keys,' Bello said. 'And also I'm not pitching from the windup anymore. I'm pitching from the stretch so that gives me a better opportunity to throw more strikes.'
It was Bello's own decision to ditch the windup.
'I felt like from the stretch I was able to command my pitches in a better way,' he said. 'But that doesn't mean I'm going to pitch from the stretch my whole career. That's something I'm going to have to work on in the offseason.'
Bello has gotten surprisingly few swings and misses in several starts this season despite his nasty stuff, that includes both a sinker and four-seamer that average 95 mph. He recorded only three swings and misses May 8 against Texas and just four each in starts vs. Atlanta (May 18) and Milwaukee (May 28).
However, he has generated a combined 26 in his past two starts.
'Of course (it was frustrating),' he said about the early lack of whiffs. 'I feel also I wasn't throwing strikes. That's why I didn't have the swings and misses. But now that I'm throwing more strikes, and now that I'm in the zone, I get those.'
Bello's sinker and sweeper are his two most used pitches this season. He's used his sinker to post a 51.8% groundball rate, which is in the 87th percentile among major league pitchers.
Opponents, meanwhile, are batting just .184 against his four-seam fastball, his third most used pitch.
His changeup has always been considered his best secondary pitch. But it has taken a backseat to his sweeper this year.
He's using his changeup only 14.9% of the time compared to 26.9% last year. Opponents are batting .246 against it, a significant increase from last year (.177).
If he gets this pitch back to form, he certainly can become a top of the rotation caliber starter.
'I don't think it's as good as it was last year,' Bello said. 'But I feel like it's getting better and better (going out of the stretch) and I'm able to command it more and throw it in a lot of situations.'
More Red Sox coverage
Red Sox reactions: Offense has scored just two runs in two games vs. Cubs
Red Sox plug rookie starter into injured Hunter Dobbins' rotation spot
Red Sox' Tanner Houck will stay on IL after being returned from rehab assignment
Red Sox' Alex Cora gives 'positive' injury updates on 3 relievers; 'Big step'
Boston Red Sox lineup: Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu sit vs. lefty starter
Read the original article on MassLive.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Red Sox look to keep home win streak going, host the Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers (60-43, first in the NL West) vs. Boston Red Sox (55-49, third in the AL East) Boston; Friday, 7:10 p.m. EDT PITCHING PROBABLES: Dodgers: Emmet Sheehan (1-1, 4.41 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 16 strikeouts); Red Sox: Brayan Bello (6-4, 3.23 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 74 strikeouts) BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Dodgers -121, Red Sox +101; over/under is 10 runs BOTTOM LINE: The Boston Red Sox will try to keep their seven-game home win streak alive when they face the Los Angeles Dodgers. Boston is 32-20 in home games and 55-49 overall. The Red Sox have a 29-13 record in games when they did not allow a home run. Los Angeles has gone 25-22 on the road and 60-43 overall. The Dodgers have gone 40-17 in games when they record eight or more hits. The teams meet Friday for the first time this season. TOP PERFORMERS: Ceddanne Rafaela has 21 doubles, two triples and 14 home runs for the Red Sox. Trevor Story is 9 for 35 with two doubles over the last 10 games. Shohei Ohtani leads the Dodgers with 37 home runs while slugging .620. Andy Pages is 10 for 36 with two home runs and five RBIs over the past 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Red Sox: 6-4, .199 batting average, 2.63 ERA, even run differential Dodgers: 4-6, .216 batting average, 3.66 ERA, outscored by one run INJURIES: Red Sox: Marcelo Mayer: day-to-day (wrist), Hunter Dobbins: 15-Day IL (acl), Nick Burdi: 60-Day IL (knee), Liam Hendriks: 60-Day IL (hip), Zack Kelly: 15-Day IL (oblique), Justin Slaten: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Luis Guerrero: 15-Day IL (elbow), Josh Winckowski: 60-Day IL (elbow), Triston Casas: 60-Day IL (knee), Kutter Crawford: 60-Day IL (knee), Tanner Houck: 15-Day IL (flexor), Patrick Sandoval: 60-Day IL (elbow) Dodgers: Ben Casparius: day-to-day (calf), Tanner Scott: 15-Day IL (elbow), Michael Kopech: 60-Day IL (knee), Kike Hernandez: 10-Day IL (elbow), Max Muncy: 10-Day IL (knee), Roki Sasaki: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Tony Gonsolin: 60-Day IL (elbow), Evan Phillips: 60-Day IL (forearm), Blake Snell: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Blake Treinen: 60-Day IL (forearm), Kyle Hurt: 60-Day IL (elbow), Michael Grove: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Brusdar Graterol: 60-Day IL (shoulder), River Ryan: 60-Day IL (elbow), Gavin Stone: 60-Day IL (shoulder) ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.


Associated Press
22 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Red Sox look to keep home win streak going, host the Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers (60-43, first in the NL West) vs. Boston Red Sox (55-49, third in the AL East) Boston; Friday, 7:10 p.m. EDT PITCHING PROBABLES: Dodgers: Emmet Sheehan (1-1, 4.41 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 16 strikeouts); Red Sox: Brayan Bello (6-4, 3.23 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 74 strikeouts) BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Dodgers -121, Red Sox +101; over/under is 10 runs BOTTOM LINE: The Boston Red Sox will try to keep their seven-game home win streak alive when they face the Los Angeles Dodgers. Boston is 32-20 in home games and 55-49 overall. The Red Sox have a 29-13 record in games when they did not allow a home run. Los Angeles has gone 25-22 on the road and 60-43 overall. The Dodgers have gone 40-17 in games when they record eight or more hits. The teams meet Friday for the first time this season. TOP PERFORMERS: Ceddanne Rafaela has 21 doubles, two triples and 14 home runs for the Red Sox. Trevor Story is 9 for 35 with two doubles over the last 10 games. Shohei Ohtani leads the Dodgers with 37 home runs while slugging .620. Andy Pages is 10 for 36 with two home runs and five RBIs over the past 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Red Sox: 6-4, .199 batting average, 2.63 ERA, even run differential Dodgers: 4-6, .216 batting average, 3.66 ERA, outscored by one run INJURIES: Red Sox: Marcelo Mayer: day-to-day (wrist), Hunter Dobbins: 15-Day IL (acl), Nick Burdi: 60-Day IL (knee), Liam Hendriks: 60-Day IL (hip), Zack Kelly: 15-Day IL (oblique), Justin Slaten: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Luis Guerrero: 15-Day IL (elbow), Josh Winckowski: 60-Day IL (elbow), Triston Casas: 60-Day IL (knee), Kutter Crawford: 60-Day IL (knee), Tanner Houck: 15-Day IL (flexor), Patrick Sandoval: 60-Day IL (elbow) Dodgers: Ben Casparius: day-to-day (calf), Tanner Scott: 15-Day IL (elbow), Michael Kopech: 60-Day IL (knee), Kike Hernandez: 10-Day IL (elbow), Max Muncy: 10-Day IL (knee), Roki Sasaki: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Tony Gonsolin: 60-Day IL (elbow), Evan Phillips: 60-Day IL (forearm), Blake Snell: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Blake Treinen: 60-Day IL (forearm), Kyle Hurt: 60-Day IL (elbow), Michael Grove: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Brusdar Graterol: 60-Day IL (shoulder), River Ryan: 60-Day IL (elbow), Gavin Stone: 60-Day IL (shoulder) ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.


Washington Post
2 hours ago
- Washington Post
Rangers hope to flip World Series title script, and finish this regular season how they started '23
ARLINGTON, Texas — Chris Young is hoping that the Texas Rangers can flip the script from 2023, when they won their only World Series title . The Rangers would like to finish this regular season the way they started that championship one two years ago. Texas (53-50) went into its day off Thursday, after a three-game series sweep of the Athletics and a week before the trade deadline, with 59 games left. 'I look back on 2023 and we went 40-20 in our first 60 games. And after that, you know, the next 102 we were two games under .500,' Young, the team's president of baseball operations, said before the opener of that series against the A's. 'Every season has a different ebb and flow to it. And my hope is that the next 62 games are our best 62 games of our season. If that's the case, then we'll look back and say, hey, the first half of the season wasn't as much fun as we had hoped, but it was all worth it to get where we wanted to go.' While third in the American League West behind Houston and Seattle, the Rangers were only 1 1/2 games out of the league's final wild-card spot. They won two of three games at the division-leading Astros before the All-Star break, and are 5-1 since, including a series win over AL Central leader Detroit. There are three games at home this weekend against Atlanta and then three in Los Angeles against the Angels before the trade deadline. Texas is 12-6 in July and averaged 5.6 runs per game, nearly two runs a game more than in their first 85 games before that. The pitching and defense have been good all season, with the staff's MLB-best 3.16 ERA and a majors-low 32 fielding errors. The Rangers have allowed two runs or fewer in their last seven games, matching the longest such streak in Texas history. 'If we can continue the progress we've shown over the last several weeks ... it's going to determine a lot,' Young said about what the team might do before the deadline. 'So not to put any more pressure on anything, it's just the reality of this point in the season, and we're looking up in the standings.' Corey Seager, in the fourth season of his $325 million, 10-year deal with Texas, has a 24-game on-base streak. He has hit .356 with eight homers and 22 RBIs in what is the second-longest active streak in the majors, behind the 29 by Milwaukee's Christian Yelich. The two-time World Series MVP shortstop had a 30-game streak last year and a 26-gamer in 2023, making him the only player with streaks of at least 24 games in each of those seasons. Right-hander Jacob deGrom (10-2, 2.28 ERA) was the only Rangers player picked as an All-Star, but the team gave right-hander Nathan Eovaldi (7-3, 1.58) the $100,000 All-Star bonus from his contract even after he was left off the American League squad. Eovaldi is set to start Friday against the Braves, his first game since July 13, when he went 7 2/3 innings in a 5-1 win at Houston before the break. The 35-year-old right-hander was scratched because of back stiffness from last Sunday's game against Oakland, and a matchup with AL All-Star starter Tarik Skubal. The 37-year-old deGrom missed most of the past two seasons after Tommy John surgery, and his 118 1/3 innings pitched are already his most since 2019, when he won his second consecutive NL Cy Young Award with the New York Mets. DeGrom went to Atlanta last week but opted against pitching in the All-Star Game, and the Rangers intentionally gave him a nine-day break between starts. 'If we can keep him out there and keep getting the best version of Jacob for another 10 or so starts, it's a great thing for our club,' Young said. 'He's feeling really good, and we're doing our best to try to protect him from a health and recovery standpoint.' Josh Jung is 4 for 8 with a homer and four runs scored in three games since being recalled from Triple-A Round Rock, where the third baseman was sent July 2 when in a bad slump. Jon Gray made his season debut Wednesday against the A's, pitching two innings in relief for the win. The right-hander, who can be a starter or reliever, suffered a fractured forearm when struck by a comeback liner in a spring training game. Joc Pederson, the offseason addition out since May 25 because of a broken right hand, could re-join the team next week after a rehab assignment. ___ AP MLB: