Red Sox Notes: Adjustments Name Of Game For Brayan Bello

BOSTON — For the first time in over a month, Red Sox manager Alex Cora thought he was going to have to pull Brayan Bello before the young starting pitcher completed six innings.

But despite not having his best stuff Wednesday night at Fenway Park, Bello didn’t give-in and continued to surpass Cora’s expectations.

Bello handled the Rangers, who entered the contest leading Major League Baseball in runs scored, for seven innings to earn his sixth win of the season as Boston doubled up Texas, 4-2. He allowed eight hits and two runs while striking out three and walking none. It’s the fourth time in his last five starts the 24-year-old has pitched seven innings.

“At one point he had 50 pitches and I was like, ‘Well, we’re going five today.’ And then he goes seven,” Cora said. “… Like I said, his stuff wasn’t great, command wasn’t great, but to do that against that lineup, that’s impressive.”

Bello let two runners on in each of the first two innings and gave up his fifth hit of the contest to open up the third frame. But Bello remained poised and made the necessary adjustments — mainly going with his sinker — to escape damage. After Corey Seager began the third with a single, Bello retired eight straight.

“Little by little he gathers information and he goes out there. He’s not afraid.”

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Red Sox manager Alex Cora

Cora credited Bello for adapting and taking the coaching that comes to him, especially between innings when the right-hander talks things over with pitching coach Dave Bush and game-planning coordinator Jason Varitek.

“Going into the battle, you have an idea of what you want to do, but then you make the decision to act differently,” Cora said. “Sometimes more aggressive than others, sometimes more patient. Little by little he gathers information and he goes out there. He’s not afraid.”

Being able to change things up and deviate from the original game plan isn’t something Bello excelled at last season when he got his feet wet in the majors. But this season, in-game adjustments are proving to be one of the biggest differences for Bello.

“That’s one of the good things that I have this year because you go into a game with a plan but it doesn’t always work that way and you have to be able to adjust on the fly,” Bello said through a translator. “And that’s been something I’ve been able to do this year and I’m glad things are working out that way.”

Here are more notes from Wednesday’s Red Sox-Rangers game:

— Adam Duvall’s red-hot swing to begin the season hasn’t returned since coming off the injured list. He’s batting .157 (11-for-70) since returning, but Cora has seen some encouraging signs that he is getting his form back. He flared a single to drive in the run against the Rangers and then was robbed on a shot that third baseman Josh Jung made a diving grab on.

“Just about timing for him,” Cora said. “I was talking to (assistant hitting coach) Luis Ortiz, kind of like, ‘You got hurt early in the season, you come back halfway through it, the guys on the mound, they’re on top of their game. They’re nice and loose, they let them go, stuff is ticking up and it’s hard to catch up.’ Hopefully today is the beginning of something good.”

— Red Sox All-Star closer Kenley Jansen did his job once again. He pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning to record his 18th save of the season and No. 409 for his career.

— The Rangers haven’t enjoyed their time playing at Fenway. Texas is 5-17 in Boston since 2016.

— The Red Sox will face old friend Nathan Eovaldi in the series finale with the Rangers on Thursday. First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET, and you can watch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN.