Bello and Red Sox struggle to finish
Rays 5 RedSox0
His glove sat on top of his left hip when he saw the ball sail into the Monster seats in the sixth inning of Wednesday night’s 5-0 loss to the Rays.
It was a scene that has become all too familiar in the second half of the season for a 24year-old righthander who had to scratch and claw his way to the finish line, with adversity winning most of the bouts.
Brayan Bello had just left a 95-mile-per-hour, four-seam fastball up in the zone that Isaac Paredes touched for a two-run shot, the second homer off Bello on the night. Bello, with his club trailing, 5-0, issued a walk after back-to-back outs, bringing manager Alex Cora to the mound. But it was Justin Turner who Cora pulled from the game, not Bello.
The sparse crowd at Fenway for the Red Sox’ last home game of 2023 displayed their appreciation for Turner with a warm ovation. In one moment, you had the veteran Turner, limping to the finish on a bad heel and seeing his numbers take the brunt of it.
“That’s what I signed up for, to play 162-plus,” said Turner afterward. “Just because we’re out of postseason contention doesn’t mean I’m going to shut it down. I want to continue to go out there, be with these guys, and work with them and continue to try to help everyone get better.”
On the other, was the youngster, Bello, trying to complete his year on a high note, but battling through defeat after spending much of the season as the team’s ace.
For most of the year, Turner and Bello were the heartbeat to their respective gigs. Turner, an assassin at the plate. And Bello, a fiery starter who constituted not just promise but product.
At the end of August, Turner was hitting .287/.357/.488 with an .845 OPS on the season. But the heel injury that the (mainly) designated hitter suffered at the start of August became apparent with each stride he made on the bases, and every swing he took at the dish. His numbers plummeted in September, as he batted .207 in his first 21 games this month. And following an 0 for 2 Wednesday against Rays ace Tyler Glasnow that included two strikeouts, Turner’s OPS fell below .800 (.799) for the first time since June 30.
Bello had a 3.04 ERA in 14 starts prior to the All-Star break, but he hit a wall once the Midsummer Classic reached the backdrop, posting a 5.49 ERA over across his final 14 starts.
“This is the big leagues,” Bello said through a team translator. “You have to keep improving and making adjustments. That’s one of the things I need to take away and grow from next year.”
Much of the weight of the offense landed on Turner’s shoulders this season. His .335 batting average with runners in scoring position indicated just how important he was. Even though Rafael Devers, on paper, had the better season, Turner brought value to the club when it mattered most.
The value part of it resonated with Cora. Turner will likely opt out of his contract at the end of the year. Given that, Cora started to think about a way for Turner to have his rightful sendoff, just in case the DH doesn’t return. Cora didn’t want to take Turner out after Paredes’s homer, so he chose to do it after the walk by Bello.
“We don’t know what the future holds,” said Cora. “But I feel like this guy, throughout the season, he was not only the leader on the field, but off of it, too. It just felt right.”
Even though Bello’s overall ERA of 4.24 won’t settle in the minds of the Red Sox fans as a triumph, in some regard it should be. Bello carried an ERA below 4.00 after 19 of his 28 starts. Despite his poor second half, Bello’s ERA stood at 3.71 on the year until the Rangers hit him with an avalanche of eight runs in just three innings.
“I think, overall, like I told him, it was a good first full season at big league level,” Cora said. “It’s not easy.”
The Red Sox collected just three hits on Thursday night. They finished 39-42 at home. They will miss the playoffs again.
The season is a failure.
Yet Turner and Bello kept them in it. At least until Turner’s body failed him, and Bello’s youth and lack of experience did the same.
But Cora shook Turner’s hand before the 38-year-old walked off the field — gingerly.
Then, Bello struck out Christian Bethancourt, to end the inning and his season. Through the bumps and bruises, his season was complete with a 12-11 record, tossing 100 pitches in the home finale.
“He got punched a couple of times through the last two,” said Cora. “Hopefully, this could help him through the offseason with things that he needs to do.”