Red Sox manager Alex Cora reflected on Boston's series win against the New York Yankees quite fondly after the ballclub earned a 3-2 victory at Yankee Stadium on Sunday night.
And for good reason.
The Red Sox on Sunday received an incredibly impressive start from right-hander Brayan Bello, who allowed just three hits in seven innings of work. The only two runs Bello allowed were far from earned, too, as an unlucky bounce in the second inning allowed New York to tack on a pair.
The fact the 24-year-old Bello shoved after 27-year-old Garrett Whitlock and 26-year-old Tanner Houck did the same in the days prior only added to the storyline.
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"From my end, to come here with those three kids and pitch the way they did, hopefully we can build off of this," Cora told reporters Sunday night, per MassLive's Sean McAdam. "That was really good by Whit, by Tanner and by Bello. That was impressive. Obviously, we need to pitch to get back (into contention); the offense is going to be OK. It's just a matter of time to get good at-bats and get people healthy."
Whitlock allowed just one earned run in 6 1/3 innings during Boston's series-opening win Friday. Houck followed that up the next night and allowed two runs on three hits in six innings, despite the fact it came in a loss.
"But I'm impressed the way (the young starters) went about it over the three days. That was fun to watch," Cora said. "In this scenario, against a good team, they grew up a lot in these three days."
Cora and the Red Sox surely would like to continue that youth movement when they get back to Fenway Park for a six-game homestand. Boston will welcome the Colorado Rockies to the ballpark Monday night, which you can watch live on NESN.
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Featured image via John Jones/USA TODAY Sports Images