It was a disastrous start for Boston Red Sox pitcher Brayan Bello in Friday night's 10-3 loss in Baltimore.
The Boston Red Sox' nightmarish start continued on Friday night as they fell to 9-17 on the season, losing to the Baltimore Orioles 10-3 in the first game of a six-game road trip. It was a particularly rough outing for Boston starter Brayan Bello, who lasted just 3.1 innings.
The Baltimore offensive onslaught began nearly immediately, with Orioles leadoff hitter Gunnar Henderson taking the second pitch he saw 410 feet to right field to give the O's a 1-0 lead. It then became a full-blown barrage for the Orioles lineup as Taylor Ward reached on a single before Bello surrendered the second of three first-inning home runs -- this time to catcher Adley Rutschman -- a two-run shot to extend the Baltimore lead to 3-0 all before Bello recorded his first out.
After getting first baseman Pete Alonso to fly out to right, Bello allowed yet another home run, this time to left fielder Dylan Beavers, giving Baltimore an early 4-0 lead. Bello surrendered another extra-base hit, a double to designated hitter Samuel Basallo, before retiring the next two batters.
The Red Sox were able to make a dent into the four-run Baltimore lead thanks to a solo home run from Wilyer Abreu in the top of the second. But the Orioles continued to add on to their lead in the bottom half of the second inning when Rutschman grounded out to third, scoring Henderson to extend their lead back to four, 5-1.
Bello allowed two more home runs in the outing, as Basallo jumped all over a middle-in cutter, hitting it 111 miles per hour on a lineout to right to make it 6-1 Baltimore in the third. Rutschman would strike again in the bottom of the fourth with yet another two-run shot, making it 8-1 Baltimore.
Bello allowed two more singles in the home half of the fourth before Red Sox manager Alex Cora finally saw enough, lifting his starter. Once it was all said and done, Bello lasted just 3.1 innings, allowing a career high 13 hits, five of them home runs, and tied a career-high eight earned runs. "They had a good game and there's nothing you can do about it right now" Bello said through a translator.
Bello's ERA has ballooned to 9.00 on the season, the second-highest among major league pitchers with at least 20 innings pitched, while his 2.27 WHIP now ranks the highest in the sport. Bello was asked if this was the toughest start of his big league career, saying, "I would say so, a lot of hard contact, a lot of home runs."
When asked if Bello would make his next start, Cora said, "We gotta stay the course," citing the Orioles offense putting some good swings on the ball.
The Red Sox will look to snap the now four-game losing streak on Saturday afternoon, when Garrett Crochet takes the mound looking to right the ship. Baltimore ace Trevor Rogers will get the start for the Orioles. First pitch from Camden Yards set for 12:05 p.m. ET.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION:
Remember to join our RED SOX on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other Red Sox fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!