The Red Sox are heading into the first stretch of their post-break schedule with a tricky problem to solve, and it could put Brayan Bello back in the spotlight.
Boston’s next 10 games are at home, but the opening series is the one that jumps off the page: a matchup with the division-rival Tampa Bay Rays, who sit atop the AL. The Red Sox have a starter lined up for the first game of the double header tomorrow, as well as the third and fourth games, but not the second. That leaves the door open for another bullpen game, and another possible look at Bello in relief.
That would be a notable twist for a pitcher who has had a rough time in the rotation but looked far more comfortable out of the bullpen. Bello’s numbers as a starter have been ugly, with a 10.35 ERA. As a reliever, though, he’s been a different arm entirely, carrying a 0.91 ERA.
He showed that version of himself against the Mets. Boston had to piece together a bullpen game because of its shortage of starting pitchers, which also burned through a lot of relievers and left only a few options available in the final game of the series to support Payton Tolle. So the Red Sox turned to Bello as a long reliever, and he delivered four and a third innings with five strikeouts while allowing just one run on Francisco Lindor’s solo homer.
The challenge against Tampa Bay would be a lot steeper. The Mets were one thing; the Rays are another.
Tampa Bay leads the AL and brings a lineup with Jonathan Aranda, Junior Caminero, and Yandy Diaz. Bello would also be dealing with a Rays pitching staff that, as the source puts it, rivals Boston’s.
That’s why this weekend could matter so much for him. If Bello comes through against a team like Tampa Bay, he’d have taken on a tough lineup and matched up with a high-level rotation. And if that keeps happening, he could become the kind of long reliever Boston can trust in a pinch, with a place in the bullpen for years to come.
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