2 days ago
Red Sox lefty went viral for ‘frustration' glove throw — but he has become ‘Everyday Bernie'
BOSTON — Since the day he made his Red Sox debut in April 2023, it has seemed like Brennan Bernardino has had a big smile on his face every step of the way. It was striking then, to see him throw his glove in a fit of a rage on Monday night at Fenway.
Bernardino, after allowing two runs and two hits in relief of starter Brayan Bello in the seventh inning of Monday's loss, unleashed his glove into the clubhouse tunnel in the home dugout, then threw his hat just as hard as he left the field. Some, like first base coach José Flores, recoiled in fear. Others, like second baseman David Hamilton, couldn't help but laugh. It was an uncharacteristic showing from the mild-mannered Bernardino, who said he can't remember another time he reacted like that after an outing.
Advertisement
'It's frustration,' he said Wednesday. 'It was a big game. I felt like it was a big game for us, first game of the series, and Bello was pitching really well for us. It was my job to come in there and get out of that for him, especially without tacking on more runs. It was a build-up from a frustrating couple games in a row.'
As Bernardino pointed out, June has been a struggle. He has allowed earned runs in all four of his outings, scattering seven hits after six games. Somewhat predictably, the 33-year-old southpaw might have hit the wall a bit after a very, very busy May.
After pitching just 11 times in Boston's first 31 games of the season, Bernardino turned into 'Everyday Bernie' in May. The Red Sox played 28 games in the month and Bernardino pitched in 16 of them, leading the league in appearances for the month. He threw four times in a five-game stretch from May 20-24, then again from May 27-31. And he largely dominated, posting a 0.71 ERA (1 earned run in 12 ⅔ innings) while allowing hitters to bat just .140 against him.
For Bernardino, a journeyman who was a 26th round pick, played in four different countries and drove Uber before finally settling into a relief role with the Red Sox at 31 years old two years ago, it's all gravy. Living his dream is worth the fact that many fans are worried his arm may fall off at some point.
Advertisement
'I want to be green,' said Bernardino, speaking about the Red Sox' bullpen availability card which shows 'green,' 'yellow' or 'red' signals depending on how rested relievers are. 'I want to pitch as much as I can. I love baseball so I love to play. For me, it's one-inning spurts usually. Maybe sometimes it's one batter. When I come to the field, my goal is to play that day.
'The majority of the time, it's, 'Let's go,'' he added. 'But there are some times where you're like, 'Ok, I'm hanging a little bit. I wouldn't mind if my name isn't called as much.''
Bernardino has already pitched 31 times for the Red Sox, which trails teammate Greg Weissert for the team lead (32) and is two-behind the MLB-leader, San Diego's Jason Adam. And considering Bernardino was one of the final additions to Alex Cora's Opening Day roster, he has been a bright spot. In 26 ⅔ innings entering Wednesday, he had posted a 3.38 ERA while holding batters to a .204 average. Left-handed hitters have a .586 OPS against Bernardino but he has been deadly against righties, holding them to a .193 average (11-for-57) and .566 OPS.
Asked why he has been successful, Bernardino cited a team effort.
Advertisement
'My catchers, big-time. My pitching coaches, what we've worked on through the offseason, the goals in the offseason,' he said. 'The training room, the training staff, with me throwing that much and they're keeping me on the field. There's a lot that goes into it.'
In 2024, after a strong debut season in Boston, Bernardino was surprisingly sent to Triple-A to start the season despite a strong showing in spring training. He still ended up making 57 appearances in the big leagues. He hasn't been to Worcester yet in 2025, but manager Alex Cora hinted that because of the heavy bullpen usage early, some tough decisions are going to have to be made soon once other pitchers return healthy.
'We have a plan but the season dictates what we do,' Cora said. 'We can only have 13 pitchers here. As far as the roster, I think it becomes more flexible in the upcoming days and weeks when guys are done with their rehab assignments and all that and when we get healthy. If we're gonna be aggressive early in the game, we're probably gonna be aggressive as an organization flip-flopping guys and making sure we've got fresh arms here every single day.'
For now, though, Bernardino enjoys being called upon so often.
Advertisement
'It has meant a lot,' he said. 'I appreciate every time I get the ball. I wear a badge of honor that A.C. is handing me the ball.'
More Red Sox coverage
Read the original article on MassLive.
