For the first time all season, the Boston Red Sox played a complete game in their 9-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday afternoon. The offense exploded for a season-high nine runs, starter Brayan Bello gave the team 6.2 innings, and most importantly, Boston had a clean sheet defensively. 

For Bello, the 6.2-inning start, the longest start for a Boston starter in 2026, was just what the doctor ordered. Bellow allowed just two runs on six hits, while striking out two and walking two across those 6.2 innings. 

It has been a strange start to the season for the 26-year-old. Despite generating a career high 41.9% whiff rate in his first two starts, the results had not been there. 

Ahead of Sunday's start, Bello had thrown just eight innings across two starts, where he allowed 10 runs (eight earned) on 13 hits, while walking as many batters, seven, as he struck out. 

Against a St. Louis lineup that entered Sunday's rubber match in the top 10 in strikeout rate at 21.4%, Bello looked more like the pitcher he was during his 2024 breakout campaign, generating a season-low ten whiffs. Instead, he pitched much more to contact, getting 12 of his 20 outs recorded via the groundout. 

"If we pitch, we're gonna be in good shape," Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters after the win. "He threw strikes, mixed up all his pitches, obviously the lead gave him freedom to attack...it was a good one for him," Cora said of Bello. 

Bello cited his ability to stay aggressive within the strike zone as the reason for his best start of the season, telling reporters, "When I'm staying in the zone, this is the result you get, I feel like when I'm executing all of my pitches, being aggressive in the zone, this is what happens."

Overall, the Red Sox pitching staff put on a masterclass in the series win in St. Louis, holding a Cardinals team that entered Friday night's matchup eighth in baseball with 59 runs scored to just seven over the three-game set. 

Craig Breslow built the 2026 Red Sox based on strong pitching, and the third time through the order has been the charm for the Red Sox. Boston starters have allowed just five earned runs in their last five starts, good for a 1.52 ERA, the best in baseball in that stretch. It's no coincidence that the strong pitching performances have coincided with the Red Sox winning four of those five games. 

Garrett Crochet will look to keep that momentum rolling into Minnesota on Monday night when he takes the mound in the series opener against the Twins. First pitch from Target Field set for 7:40 p.m. ET. 

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