Bello finishes spring in fine form
In his final spring training start, Brayan Bello looked ready for the real thing.
Armed with what the Pirates broadcast described as “an absolute voodoo sinker,” the Red Sox righthander pitched 5 ⅓ innings. In his last turn before his first career Opening Day start, he allowed one earned run, walked three, and struck out seven. He threw 91 pitches, 56 for strikes (61.5%) and induced five groundouts.
It was Bello’s third consecutive outing of at least five innings, something he did more than any other Sox pitcher last season. In his first full season in the Majors, he went five or more in 21 of 28 starts; Tanner Houck was second on the roster with 15.
Though Bello didn’t pitch a single clean inning – he allowed at least one hit or walk in each frame – he was able to work around them through five frames. The 24-yearold righty got himself into a bigger jam in the bottom of the sixth, when he gave up back-to-back singles before recording an out, and his day was done one batter later, when he issued a walk to load the bases. One run scored on a sacrifice fly, but Greg Weissert was able to mitigate further damage.
Isaiah Campbell, whom the Red Sox acquired from the Mariners in November, looks ready for Opening Day as well. The 26-year-old righty, who happens to be the first player born in Portugal in modern MLB history, has yet to allow a run this spring. (Frank Thompson played for the Washington Nationals and Brooklyn Atlantics during the National Association’s 1875 season.) Campbell opened his ninth appearance of the preseason with back-to-back strikeouts of Oneil Cruz and Andrew McCutchen, then completed the 1-2-3 seventh by getting Ke’Bryan Hayes to fly out.
Rafaela makes the cut: A standout spring has earned Ceddanne Rafaela a spot on the Red Sox Opening Day roster for the first time in his burgeoning career.
“He’s very dynamic, athletic, versatile, he’s a good kid, too,” Alex Cora lauded when making the announcement to reporters on Saturday afternoon.
Rafaela has long been considered a future perennial Gold Glove outfielder, but the Sox wanted his bat to somewhat catch up with his stellar defense. The 23-yearold’s improved plate discipline has been on display throughout spring training.