You wouldn’t know it by the final score, but this was actually a pitcher’s duel into the bottom of the sixth inning. The first run wasn’t scored until this lazy fly ball off the bat of Trevor Story found a home in shallow right field and opened the flood gates for the Boston bats:
But I’m getting ahead of myself, because the most impressive thing about this game was Brayan Bello’s performance on the mound, and the half dozen zeros he put on the board before the Boston bats woke up in the home half of the sixth. He went all nine innings, struck out ten, and brought a shutout into the final frame before the Rockies knocked him around for a couple of garbage time runs. Here are the highlights:
It’s not just that Bello threw his first career complete game, it’s that he’s a guy notorious for struggling to go deep into outings, leaving behind a big mess for the bullpen to clean up even when he limits the damage in a five and dive effort. But tonight, he managed to get through five different innings on less than ten pitches, and he didn’t need more than 17 pitches to get through a single frame until his low leverage hiccup in the ninth. What a thing of beauty!
This gem comes during the middle of a stretch where the Red Sox play ten straight games without an off day going into the All-Star break, which means the bullpen gets a very advantageous rest just two days before an important four-game tilt against the Rays this weekend.
Hats off to Brayan Bello, who has shown some serious signs of growing up on mound in his last handful of outings.
Meanwhile, the offense once again exploded. It didn’t start off that way as they made 17 outs before putting a run on the board, but once they took the lead, they quickly turned this into a laugher.
Ceddanne Rafaela started the insurance run train with this double in the sixth:
And then they really opened it up in the 7th:
The four-run sixth and the six-run seventh added to the collection of crooked numbers they’ve been compiling over the last ten games. In fact, it’s the tenth straight game they’ve had with at least one crooked numbered inning, and the two tonight make it 23 total crooked numbered innings for the Sox offense during this ten game stretch.
Some folks will be quick (and correct) to point that it’s been against some truly abysmal pitching, but good teams need to do exactly what the Red Sox have been doing of late when they get these stretches of opportunity. Also, this is another reason to be angry they didn’t do a better job of bludgeoning the White Sox when they had them on the schedule.
Also, it would greatly behoove the Sox to stay hot tomorrow in the series finale against the Rockies, because after that the schedule becomes drastically more difficult with the Rays, Cubs, Phillies, and Dodgers all waiting in the wings for the following 13 games.
Make hay while the sun is shining!
Studs
Brayan Bello: I mean, duh!
Ceddanne Rafaela: He only had one hit, but you could argue it was the biggest of the night as it turned a 1-0 game into a 3-0 game and really got the Sox rolling. He also made this wonderful catch in the fourth inning of what at the time preserved a 0-0 game.
Romy Gonzalez: The last spot for the studs is extremely close. Could have gone Jarren Duran, who hit the longest home run of the season at Fenway. Could go with Trevor Story, who stayed hot with a pair of hits including a home run, but I’ll give the nod to Romy Gonzalez, who led the team with three hits, continues to do his job against left-handed pitching, and even added a triple against a righty tonight.
Three Duds
Connor Wong: I don’t even know what to say at this point. His 0-4 showing tonight brings his average down to .143 and his OPS is down to .375. The Red Sox have two catchers: The right one, and the Wong one.
Abraham Toro: It’s only a matter of time before this guy turns back into a pumpkin, and him going 0-4 tonight is just another indication of that looming on the horizon.
The Road Rockies: I’ve seen this exact game from the Colorado Rockies a few hundred times now. They go on the road and can’t hit a lick, and it’s at least in part because of the Coors Hangover Effect, which is where they can’t adjust to breaking pitches at sea level after hitting at Coors Field for long stretches. (They played 12 of their last 15 games before this series at home.)
Before last month, the Rockies went two years without a winning road trip! This particular version of the road Rockies came into the game batting .208 with .610 OPS on the season. So if you want to nitpick Bello’s outing at all, here’s your chance: The road Rockies always stink offensively because they are at a literal competitive disadvantage, and the 2025 Rockies stink to the historical high heavens in general.
