The Red Sox earned a shutout win and a series victory Thursday afternoon, but it wasn’t as smooth a performance as the scoreline indicated.
Boston earned a 5-0 win over the Texas Rangers at Fenway Park. Alex Cora’s side received key contributions from Rafael Devers and Ceddanne Rafaela, and while Brayan Bello didn’t give up a run, his outing could have been better.
“Erratic. Five walks, a lot of traffic, gave us enough and the bullpen did a good job,” Cora told reporters, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage.
Bello matched a career high five walks and one strikeout Thursday. He only threw 83 pitches in 4 2/3 innings, as Boston’s defense stepped up for the Red Sox starter. Alex Bregman led a heads-up double play, which was the team’s 34th of the season, tied for the third-most in MLB.
Bello’s inconsistencies don’t show up on paper. He commanded a 2.01 ERA in 22 1/3 innings, allowed a .228 batting average and recorded 13 strikeouts and 12 walks in his first four starts of the season. It might be why the Red Sox remain high on the 25-year-old’s ability to find his consistency in his starts.
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“It’s good to see him out there and keep getting better. I think that’s the most important thing,” Cora said. “The goal was for him to be able to perform. Now it’s to do that over and over and over again. We know he can do it. The stuff is getting better. He’s been efficient. The use of the pitches have been great, and little by little, he’s gaining momentum.”
Here are more notes from the Red Sox-Rangers series finale:
— The bullpen stepped up in the Texas series after troubling performances against the Minnesota Twins last week. The unit commanded a 0.66 ERA, and the trio of Justin Slaten, Garrett Whitlock and Liam Hendriks were huge in relief of Bello. Interestingly, Slaten came on in the fifth inning, which was earlier than the Red Sox typically use the 27-year-old. The right-hander struggled heading into Thursday, and it seems like he might have gained some confidence after giving up zero runs in 1 1/3 innings.
“We’re trying to get W’s,” Cora said. “We felt like that matchup, we’ve seen it before, the (Adolis) García one. He’s (Slaten) handled it in a positive way, and giving him a different look, that’s what we wanted to do there. And then he was very efficient the next inning. … We’ve got capable guys, who have good stuff, and I think anybody in that bullpen can pitch in the seventh, eighth. …”
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— Devers continued his hot run when he hit his sixth home run of the season. He’s had a 1.206 OPS with four doubles, four homers and 11 RBIs in his last 12 games. He also added a stolen base against the Rangers, which was his first since Sept. 14, 2024 against the New York Yankees.
— The Red Sox head off to Kansas City to take on the Royals at Kauffman Stadium. First pitch for the series opener against the American League Central side is scheduled at 7:40 p.m. ET, and you can catch full coverage on NESN starting at 6:30 p.m.
Featured image via David Butler II/Imagn Images
