NEW YORK – Brayan Bello’s emergence, one of the underplayed stories of the season so far for the Red Sox, took center stage under the bright lights of Yankee Stadium on Friday night.
Facing off against Yankees ace Max Fried, Bello didn’t so much as blink.
The Red Sox rode Bello’s seven scoreless innings (three hits, one walk, five strikeouts) to a 1-0 victory that assured them of no worse than a split with two games remaining in this four-game series between the rivals. It was the first time Boston topped the Yankees by that score since July 28, 1994.
While it might be somewhat surprising to even the most astute Red Sox followers that Joe Hesketh was the winning pitcher that night, it is far less shocking that it was Bello who authored Friday’s gem.
He has a habit of doing so against the Yankees, especially on the road. Bello became the first pitcher in Red Sox history to hold the Bronx Bombers to three hits and no runs over seven innings or more in consecutive starts. Bello accomplished that feat on June 15 at Fenway.
In five career starts at Yankee Stadium, Bello is 3-1 with a 1.44 ERA.
“[He did] what he usually does here,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “He enjoys his stage. He does. Don’t know what it is, but it seems like he enjoys this atmosphere.”
And also the white slab that is 60 feet and six inches from home plate.
“Yeah, I love pitching here,” Bello said. “The mound feels great to pitch here.”
As a team, Boston is also thriving against its forever rivals, improving to 7-1 to clinch the 13-game season series.
That is worth noting, considering the current standings. At 70-59, the Sox currently lead the 69-59 Yankees for the top American League Wild Card position. If the teams finish in a tie for that spot, Boston is now assured of hosting a best-of-three Wild Card Series against New York.
What has led to the Red Sox playing at such a high level against the team they’ve so often been measured against?
“I feel like every time we’re on the attack, trying to get ahead of them and that’s what’s been working for us and how we’ve been able to win those games,” Bello said.
While rivalry games usually have numerous subplots, Bello was pretty much the story of Friday, other than the squirrel that worked its way around Yankee Stadium with the game in progress.
It would have taken a lot more than a squirrel to deter Bello’s focus. While improving to 10-6 and lowering his ERA to 3.07, Bello threw 92 pitches, 61 of them for strikes.
“He's very versatile, and he keeps getting better,” Cora said. “Is it the final product? Not yet. But I looked at the numbers today, saw the ERA and was like, ‘Whoa, we’re in a good spot.”’
All Bello needed to win this one was a run. It took a while to get it.
When Fried exited after six scoreless frames (four hits, three walks, seven strikeouts), the Red Sox at last broke the scoreless stalemate in the top of the seventh against reliever Mark Leiter Jr.
Pinch-hitter Nathaniel Lowe, who has thrived in his first few days with Boston, belted a one-out double. Lowe was a free agent with a .216 batting average and a .665 OPS when the Nationals released him less than a week ago.
“I was telling [chief baseball officer Craig Breslow] that his WAR went up the last few days,” Cora said. “We joke about stuff like that here. We saw an opportunity to improve [at first base]. And so far, so good. He's been great coming off the bench, twice, putting up good at-bats. He's a good defender, and it seems like he's happy. He's having fun and we're gonna keep trying to help him to keep improving.”
That set up Connor Wong for an RBI double into the corner in left.
Cora admitted being tempted to send Bello back out for the eighth. Instead, he went to the 1-2 punch that has been nails for him this season.
Garrett Whitlock, the Rule 5 pick Boston procured from the Yankees in the 2020 Rule 5 Draft, mowed through New York in a dominant eighth, striking out slumping Anthony Volpe and dangerous pinch-hitter Giancarlo Stanton, who has been on a tear of late.
For the second straight night, Aroldis Chapman came on for the save against his former team, this one his 24th of the season and 359th of his career.