Party kicks off with Rowdy
Brewers slugger enjoys this staff
MILWAUKEE — For a burly guy who was drafted in the 30th round out of high school 10 years ago, Rowdy Tellez has put together a solid major league career.
He’s played parts of six seasons in the majors, appeared in five playoff games, and earned $7.4 million. Not bad.
But put him at the plate against the Red Sox and Tellez hits for average like Lou Gehrig, gets on base at the same clip as Jimmie Foxx, and slugs like Babe Ruth.
Tellez was at it again on Saturday.
His two-run homer helped lift the Brewers to a 5-4 victory against the Sox. He’s homered twice in the series, driving in four runs.
Tellez is 37 of 110 (.336) with 14 home runs and 29 RBIs in 37 career games against the Sox.
His most career runs, hits, homers, and RBIs have come against the Sox.
“It just so happens it’s that team,” Tellez said before the game. “They’re just that team I always hit against. I wish I knew why.
“[Alex] Cora always makes jokes from the dugout about it. But nothing changes. For some reason I see the ball great against them. I love hitting at Fenway, too.”
Tellez went into the game a career .237 hitter with a .774 OPS. Take away his production against the Sox and he had hit .228 with a .740 OPS.
“We’re aware of the numbers,” Sox pitching coach Dave Bush said. “If I had the answer about how to pitch him, we’d be doing it. Some guys just hit well against certain teams.
“There’s no magic answer. We’re always looking for ways to get hitters out and we haven’t found it with him.”
Tellez has homered off Red Sox starters (Nate Eovaldi, Nick Pivetta, Eduardo Rodriguez), relievers (Heath Hembree, Josh Taylor), and a second baseman
(Christian Arroyo). He’s even 2 for 3 with a double off Chris Sale, a pitcher who usually overwhelms lefthanded hitters.
“I wish I had an answer for you,” Tellez said. “It’s just one of those things.”
One Sox pitcher who handled Tellez well was Matt Barnes. Tellez was 0 for 5 with four swinging strikeouts against Barnes, although he did draw three walks.
Barnes, alas, is now a Miami Marlin.
Bello up next
Brayan Bello had the worst game of his short major league career Monday, giving up five runs on eight hits over 2„ innings against the Angels at Fenway Park.
The Angels led, 4-0, seven batters into the game.
Bello tries again Sunday afternoon, this time against the Brewers and their ace, Corbin Burnes.
“It was [Bello’s] first start. He’ll be OK,” Cora said. “He had nine swings and misses in three innings. I know it looks horrible. But when you look at the video it wasn’t that bad.”
Bello had a sore arm early in spring training and opened the season on the injured list. His rehabilitation assignment included only one minor league game. The others were instrasquad games at extended spring training.
“It’s not the same intensity but that’s not an excuse,” Bello said via a translator. “I needed to have better command of my pitches.
“I was frustrated [against the Angels] and I need to put that behind me. I’m going to be a lot better.”
Burnes is 25-14 with a 2.83 ERA the last three seasons. The 28-year-old righthander was the National League’s Cy Young Award winner in 2021 and finished seventh in the voting last season.
Sunday would be his first start against the Red Sox, although Raimel Tapia (4 for 10),
Justin Turner (2 for 7 with a homer), Kiké Hernández (0 for 2), and Alex Verdugo (1 for 3) have faced him before.
In the running
Through Friday, the Rays led the majors with 141 runs. The Sox and Rangers were tied for second with 116 . . . Pinch hitters were 9 for 21 with three extra-base hits for the Sox in the first 21 games. Tapia was 3 for 6 in that role . . . Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom is with the team for the road trip . . . The Athletics signed righthander Durbin Feltman, who was released by the Red Sox April 11. A third-round pick in the 2018 draft, Feltman, 26, had a 5.97 ERA and over 59 career Triple A games with the Sox.