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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 6, 2022 16:37:20 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 48m Devers is a available to pinch hit tonight. Back/upper hamstring issue isn’t too bad … Sale can go to 70 pitches tonight in AAA. Sounds like it’ll be his last rehab barring a setback
Rich Hill just finished up a throwing session off flat ground. Said his knee felt good. His IL stint is trending toward the shorter side seems like.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 7, 2022 2:12:31 GMT -5
Brayan Bello struggles in MLB debut as Red Sox lose, 7-1; Boston now 0-8 in series vs. AL East teams in 2022 Updated: Jul. 06, 2022, 10:18 p.m. | Published: Jul. 06, 2022, 10:17 p.m.
By Chris Cotillo | ccotillo@MassLive.com
BOSTON -- Brayan Bello’s much-awaited major league debut did not go as planned Wednesday night at Fenway Park.
The Rays hit Bello hard early and ended up tagging him for four runs and six hits in a 7-1 Tampa Bay win. The Rays took two of three from the Red Sox, handing Boston its eighth consecutive series loss to a divisional opponent to start the season. The Red Sox are now 9-18 against AL East teams this season.
Once the pageantry of Bello’s first pitch -- and strike -- was over, the Rays greeted him quite rudely. With one out in the first, Yandy Díaz doubled and Wander Franco singled to put the Rays on the board. After Bello struck out two in the second, Tampa Bay opened up the game with three more runs. Randy Arozarena made it 3-0 with a two-run double and Kevin Kiermaier added an RBI double of his own to make it 4-0.
Bello labored through four innings, needing 79 pitches (45 strikes) to record 12 outs. He struck out two, walked three and was tagged with the loss.
Offensively, the Red Sox could get little going against Rays starter Corey Kluber. The former Cy Young award winner held the Sox to just three hits over six scoreless innings and struck out five.
Tampa Bay added on to its lead in the sixth against reliever Hirokazu Sawamura, who walked four and threw just 15 of his 37 pitches for strikes. Josh Lowe’s RBI double put the Rays up 5-0. It became 6-0 when Sawamura walked Ji-Man Choi with the bases loaded. Boston’s only run came in the eighth when Jarren Duran doubled and J.D. Martinez drove him in with a base hit. Arozarena then brought Tampa Bay’s lead back to six runs with a solo shot off Tyler Danish in the ninth.
The loss dropped the Red Sox to 45-37. Boston has lost six of its last nine games.
First visit from Yankees up next
The first-place Yankees will make their first visit to Fenway Park this year for a long weekend series that begins Thursday. The rivals will match up four times (and then meet up again next weekend at Yankee Stadium. Here’s the schedule for this four-game set:
Thursday, 7:10 p.m. ET -- RHP Gerrit Cole (7-2, 2.99 ERA) vs. RHP Josh Winckowski (3-2, 3.12 ERA)
Friday, 7:10 p.m. ET -- LHP Nestor Cortes (7-3, 2.44 ERA) vs. RHP Michael Wacha (6-1, 2.69 ERA)
Saturday, 7:15 p.m. ET -- LHP Jordan Montgomery (3-2, 3.19 ERA) vs. TBD
Sunday, 7:08 p.m. ET -- RHP Jameson Taillon (9-2, 3.63 ERA) vs. RHP Nick Pivetta (8-5, 3.23 ERA)
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 7, 2022 2:13:38 GMT -5
Red Sox rookie Brayan Bello not sharp, still confident after major league debut | Matt Vautour Updated: Jul. 06, 2022, 11:38 p.m. | Published: Jul. 06, 2022, 11:37 p.m.
By Matt Vautour | mvautour@masslive.com
BOSTON — Someday the 33,135 fans at Fenway Park Wednesday night might be able to impress their friends and relatives with the fact that they were there the night Brayan Bello made his major league debut.
But on Wednesday, a crowd hoping to see the origin story of a future star saw a rookie look like a rookie in a 7-1 loss for the Red Sox. Nothing about Bello’s showing diminished the high hopes for him, but his performance won’t earn him wunderkind nicknames yet either. Bello gave up four runs on six hits and three walks in four innings in his major league debut.
It wasn’t hard to see why people are excited about Bello’s stuff. There were moments when his sinker was as good as advertised. But unlike opponents for the Sea Dogs and WooSox, the Rays weren’t overmatched by his arsenal and he didn’t hit spots well enough to avoid trouble.
“You can see his stuff. He needs to be getting better and work on a few things,” Alex Cora said. “You see the sinker. You see the velocity. You see the poise. Whenever he gets a chance again, he’s going to be better.”
Bello was already filing lessons away for that next chance.
“I learned that they’re not the same hitters you face down in Triple-A. Batters are smart, selective hitters that are going to pick out the pitch that they want to hit. That’s what I learned for my next outing,” said Bello, who said the Rays tried to take him out of his preferred pace. “I like to work fast. That’s one of the things that threw me off a little bit when the batters asked for time. I tried to adjust and get into a good rhythm. ...I wasn’t nervous at all. I was trying to be a little too much selective and that’s not how I am. I would like to be aggressive.”
Despite the results, Bello cherished the moment.
“I’ll take everything with me right here,” he said tapping his heart. “This is something you don’t get to do over again.”
Plenty of players who weren’t facing major leaguers for the first time weren’t any better than Bello, Wednesday. It was simply a bad night for baseball in Boston. Other than the weather, there were few highlights.
Much like Felix Hernandez stole the show in Daisuke Matsuzaka’s anticipated Fenway debut back in 2007, Corey Kluber eclipsed Bello this time, shutting down a flat Boston offense allowing three hits and no walks in six scoreless innings. The Red Sox didn’t score until the eighth inning and by then the Rays already had six on the board and a large percentage of the crowd was gone.
Cora wasn’t sure what was next for Bello. Chris Sale wasn’t sharp in his rehab start at Polar Park so the plan for the next time through the rotation was still undetermined.
“We’ll see what we do next. I’m just happy (Bello) was able to get out there and enjoy this,” Cora said. “(He’s) obviously disappointed with the results. But at the end of the day, he’s a big leaguer and we’re proud of him.”
Bello was eager to be back whenever the time came.
“It was a unique experience. I was very happy to be out there. Every pitch, every batter was very emotional for me to be out there,” he said. “It’s not going to be the last time for me to be out there.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 7, 2022 2:34:59 GMT -5
Experience trumps results in Bello's anticipated debut 1:09 AM ADT Ian Browne
Ian Browne @ianmbrowne
BOSTON -- For Brayan Bello, the most anticipated starting pitching prospect the Red Sox have had in years, the experience is what mattered.
You can only have one Major League debut.
Ideally, Bello would have seized the moment and electrified Fenway Park with his impressive repertoire.
But it was not to be, as the No. 3 Red Sox prospect as rated by MLB Pipeline took the loss while lasting four innings in a 7-1 setback against the Rays.
Whenever Bello gets his next chance for Boston, the results will take on a bigger meaning. Wednesday night was about getting acclimated to the highest level of baseball.
When it was all over, the 23-year-old was still smiling.
“Yeah, it was a unique experience,” said Bello. “I was very happy to be out there, and every pitch, every batter was great. It was very emotional for me to be out there, and it’s not the last time I’m going to be out there.”
The confidence Bello spoke with sounded genuine rather than cocky.
He knows the work he has put in since the Red Sox signed him out of the Dominican Republic for a modest $28,000.
Bello was no bonus baby. Yet, he’s turned himself into a pitcher to follow going forward. A rocky debut, in which he gave up six hits, four runs and three walks while striking out two, did nothing to diminish Bello’s standing within the organization.
“Like I said [leading into the start], whether he went seven innings and gave up no runs, or three innings and seven runs, we still love the kid,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “And we know what he means to this organization.”
Let the record show that the first pitch of Bello’s career was a 96 mph sinker that Josh Lowe looked at for strike one. His second pitch was popped to center, into the waiting arms of Jarren Duran.
Reality struck quickly when Yandy Diaz stepped up next and belted a double off the Green Monster and Wander Franco -- who knows what it is like to be a top prospect -- ripped an RBI single up the middle.
“Yeah, I didn’t really like my stuff at the beginning,” Bello said. “As the game went on, I got in a good rhythm with [catcher Christian] Vázquez and my stuff got better and that’s it.”
Bello had a scoreless second inning and a scoreless fourth. In between, the Rays tagged him for a three-spot in the third, scoring all of those runs with two outs.
Smiling as he spoke, Bello said nerves weren’t an issue.
“I just tried to be a little too selective, and that’s not who I am,” Bello said. “I like to be aggressive. I think that was the key.”
When Bello got his first Major League strikeout against Francisco Mejia for the second out of the second inning, the Red Sox tossed the ball back to the dugout. It eventually made its way to Bello’s locker and will be a souvenir he looks back on fondly at some point.
Did Bello take any other souvenirs with him from his first game?
“Yeah, I’ll take everything with me right here,” Bello said, as he tapped on his heart. “This is something you don’t get to do over again, so this is one time. I take everything right here.”
Though the Red Sox didn’t reveal their immediate plans for Bello after the game, it seems likely he will go back to Triple-A Worcester for his next start.
And those Minor League games will have a great meaning now that Bello has a better idea of how precise he needs to be to succeed in the big leagues.
“Yeah, I learned that they’re not the same hitters that you face down there in Triple-A,” Bello said. “You face batters who are very smart, selective hitters who are going to pick out the pitch they are going to hit, and that’s what I learned for my next outing.”
Bello also learned what the thrill of pitching at Fenway Park with a crowd of 33,735 cheering you on is like.
“It was a really exciting moment and, yeah, I was super excited to be here in front of the fans,” Bello said.
Even on what was far from his best night, Bello made it evident why his future should be bright.
“You see it,” Cora said. “You see his stuff, you see his sinker, you see the velocity and the poise. It just happens with two outs they scored all those runs. But whenever he gets a chance again, he's going to be better.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 7, 2022 2:57:36 GMT -5
Brayan Bello will have better days than his debut for the Red Sox, but his talent is evident By Peter Abraham Globe Staff,Updated July 6, 2022, 9:58 p.m.
Whenever a flashy rookie caused members of a press corps to take notice, NFL coaching legend Bill Parcells had a standard answer.
“Don’t put him in Canton,” he’d say.
Or in this case, don’t put Brayan Bello in Cooperstown.
The much-hyped 23-year-old righthander will have better days than he did in his major league debut against the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday night.
How could he not? Bello lasted four innings and allowed four runs on six hits and three walks in a 7-1 loss.
Bello blessed himself as he popped out of the dugout before the first inning then looked up to the blue sky with his new blue Sox cap over his heart.
After a superstitious hop over the base line, he ran to the mound for a few warm-up tosses to Christian Vázquez and retired Josh Lowe on two pitches. The crowd of 33,735 at Fenway applauded, appreciating the moment and the ball was rolled into the dugout for safekeeping.
But Bello was no Billy Rohr. Yandy Diaz hammered a hanging slider off the wall and Wander Franco followed with an RBI single. It was the beginning of a stretch that saw eight of 15 Rays reach base with four scoring.
Bello looked to the heavens again several times, this time in frustration. Welcome to the majors, young man.
“I wasn’t nervous at all,” Bello said via an interpreter. “Just trying to be a little too selective and that’s not who I am. I like to be aggressive.”
The talent was evident. Bello averaged 96.7 miles per hour with his sinker and the Rays didn’t square it up often. He’s athletic and repeats his delivery with ease.
The walks were a largely product of poor command, not an unwillingness to challenge hitters.
But Bello’s changeup and slider were hit hard and his 79 pitches generated only six swings and misses. The first didn’t come until his 21st pitch.
Bello wanted to work at a better tempo, but the Rays disrupted his timing by stepping out or calling time. That’s an adjustment he’ll have to make.
All three runs Bello allowed in the third inning came with two outs. Had he been able to put Ji-Man Choi away with a 2-and-2 changeup, the inning would have been over.
But Choi took it the other way for a single to extend the inning and Randy Arozarena followed with a two-run double.
“They’re not the same hitters that you face down there in Triple A,” Bello said.
Somebody should tell Bello that Roger Clemens allowed five runs on 11 hits over 5⅔ innings in his debut against Cleveland in 1984.
Jon Lester’s debut in 2006 was a loss, too. He gave up three runs on five hits and four walks over 4⅓ innings against Texas.
Sox manager Alex Cora has been around enough can’t-miss rookies to know they often do miss at first and need a little time to figure it out.
“You can see it, the stuff,” Cora said. “He needs to keep getting better and work on a few things … We still love the kid.”
Confidence plays a role in how a young pitcher learns from his mistakes and those who know Bello best say that’s not a problem.
“He understands who he is as a pitcher,” Sox player development director Brian Abraham said. “When he’s on the mound that’s where he feels the most comfortable. The really good ones usually have that.”
Cora told a story that illustrated that. After Bello was reassigned to minor league camp in spring training, he kept coming back to the major league side of the complex to get breakfast.
The point was not to get better food. It was to make a quiet statement that he belonged on the team.
“He gets it,” Cora said.
The debut of a prized prospect is a big day for any organization because so many people play a role in making it happen.
Bello was signed in 2017 in the Dominican Republic and has since played in the Dominican Summer League, Single A Greenville, Double A Portland and Triple A Worcester.
Add up all the scouts, coaches, athletic trainers, strength and conditioning coaches and roving instructors who influenced his development along the way and it’s dozens of people.
“To me Brayan is a good example of how the whole organization played its part,” Abraham said.
The organization didn’t have much to celebrate on Wednesday. For now, Bello is 0-1 with a 9.00 earned run average.
But that will change. The Sox are long overdue to produce a homegrown starting pitcher and Bello has all the qualities to end that drought.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Jul 7, 2022 3:02:32 GMT -5
He should of been shipped out as wellPete Abraham @peteabe · 6h Playing the role of Hansel Robles in tonight's performance is Hirokazu Sawamura. Chris Cotillo @chriscotillo · 7h 15 strikes, 22 balls for Sawamura in a wild 6th.Red Sox Stats @redsoxstats · 7h
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Post by Kimmi on Jul 7, 2022 11:44:38 GMT -5
Brayan Bello struggles in MLB debut as Red Sox lose, 7-1; Boston now 0-8 in series vs. AL East teams in 2022Updated: Jul. 06, 2022, 10:18 p.m. | Published: Jul. 06, 2022, 10:17 p.m. By Chris Cotillo | ccotillo@MassLive.com Well, that didn't go well for Bello.
What really irks me though is our inability to win a series against the AL East.
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Post by Kimmi on Jul 7, 2022 11:49:37 GMT -5
He should of been shipped out as wellPete Abraham @peteabe · 6h Playing the role of Hansel Robles in tonight's performance is Hirokazu Sawamura. Chris Cotillo @chriscotillo · 7h 15 strikes, 22 balls for Sawamura in a wild 6th.Red Sox Stats @redsoxstats · 7h OK, I had to chuckle at PA's tweet. That was kind of funny.
That said, it's really difficult to win games regardless of what your pitching is doing when you only score 1 run.
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