The Boston Red Sox needed the version of Brayan Bello they paid him to be with an early extension during the offseason.
Bello struggled through the month of June with control issues and a slew of baserunners. The right-hander had extra rest before his first start of July against the Miami Marlins and showed up in a 7-2 win for the Red Sox.
“He did a good job,” Alex Cora told reporters, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “He responded in the first inning the way we wanted him to. They came out swinging. They got their hits. He stayed attacking. His stuff was really good. He was throwing hard. The changeup was probably his best one of the season. He gave us a chance to win.”
Two particular adjustments came up big for Bello: attacking the zone and reintroducing his four-seam fastball.
The Red Sox starter threw 11 of them in Wednesday’s start after largely eliminating that pitch from his arsenal in 2024. Cora and Bello both confirmed on NESN’s postgame coverage that a conversation with pitching coach Andrew Bailey led to bringing back a pitch that allowed him to reset and gain control on the mound.
“If he feels comfortable with it, we’ll use it,” Cora added.
Bello joined the collective performance of this season’s Red Sox rotation by throwing strikes and pitching deep into the game to give Boston a chance to win. If Bello can leave his June struggles behind, his team can certainly take another step forward in July.
“He’s one of our best ones,” Cora said. “We’ve gotta get him going. It was a good one.”
Here are more notes from Wednesday’s Red Sox-Marlins game:
— Connor Wong extended his hitting streak to 17 games, which remains the longest active MLB streak rolling.
— Red Sox move to 8-4 at loanDepot Park when visiting the Marlins since their rebrand to Miami in 2012.
— Bello turned in his longest outing of the season with seven strikeouts and just one run allowed over 6 1/3 innings.
— The series victory marks a fifth series win for the Red Sox since the start of June.
— Rob Refsnyder made a standout defensive play to rob Josh Bell of extra bases.
— Ceddanne Rafaela has six RBIs in the series after a three-run homer on Tuesday and a bases-clearing double on Wednesday.
— The Red Sox and Marlins close out the three-game series on Independence Day on Thursday. First pitch is set for 1:10 p.m. ET. You can catch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN.
