Red Sox make head-scratching catcher change for Brayan Bello ahead of pivotal Wild Card game against Yankees

Red Sox make head-scratching catcher change for Brayan Bello ahead of pivotal Wild Card game against Yankees originally appeared on The Sporting News

Last night, the Boston Red Sox won game one of the Wild Card series against the New York Yankees in a nail-biter. Now, they have a chance to eliminate the Yankees, and with Brayan Bello on the mound, it could be easy.

However, the Sox made a head-scratching decision when it comes to Bello; they’re starting catcher Carlos Narvaez over Connor Wong, who was pretty much Bello’s exclusive catcher this season.

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Why does this matter? Well, Bello himself has pointed out that Wong is a big reason why he finally took a huge step forward this season.

Last season, Bello finished with an ERA of 4.49 and a WHIP of 1.361. This season, Bello finished with an ERA of 3.35 and a WHIP of 1.236. He also had his ERA dip under three for a portion of the season, as he was really dealing.

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The only conceivable reason that Narvaez is going over Wong is due to hitting, as Wong has had a terrible year, hitting in the .100s and below. However, in his last 25 games, he’s been doing much better, hitting .225 with 16 hits, six RBI, and seven runs scored. For reference, Narvaez is hitting .241 this season.

Hopefully, Narvaez can call pitches as good as Wong for this game. Otherwise, they’re risking a lot with the Wild Card on the line.

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