The Boston Red Sox couldn’t keep the positive momentum going after sweeping the Kansas City Royals earlier this week, as they suffered an 8-6 loss to the Minnesota Twins on Friday night. In an unusual development, it was the Red Sox’s pitching staff, not their lineup, that led to this loss.
For the most part, Boston’s pitching staff has been the only thing keeping it in games this season. The only starting pitcher who has been ineffective to this point is Brayan Bello, and unfortunately, he’s been one of the worst players at his position in the entire league. After he got rocked once again in his latest start against the Atlanta Braves, the Sox revealed that they are changing things up ahead of his outing against the Twins on Saturday.
Red Sox to Use Jovani Moran as an Opener for Brayan Bello
Bello had become an important middle of the rotation arm for Boston over the past few years, but he has been awful to begin the 2026 campaign. Through his first nine outings, Bello has a 2-5 record with an ugly 7.16 ERA and 30 strikeouts. With injuries flaring up for the Sox, though, they have had no choice but to stick with Bello to this point.
Earlier this month, Boston employed a unique strategy with Bello, as they used relief pitcher Jovani Moran as an opener before bringing him out of the bullpen. For whatever reason, that setup has brought out the best in Bello, as the two times interim manager Chad Tracy used this strategy ended up resulting in the two best outings of his young season.
Tracy tried to use Bello as a regular starter against the Braves, but he gave up seven runs in five laborious innings of work. The Red Sox have a good thing going with Bello when it comes to using an opener in front of him, so the team will once again be turning to Moran to start on Saturday before giving the ball to Bello out of the bullpen.
“Jovani Moran will open for Brayan Bello tomorrow, Red Sox announce,” Gabrielle Starr of The Boston Herald shared in a post on X.
Brayan Bello Running Out of Time to Figure Things Out with the Red Sox
GettyATLANTA, GEORGIA – MAY 17: Brayan Bello #66 of the Boston Red Sox pitches during the first inning against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on May 17, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
At some point, Boston is going to get some healthy arms off the injured list, and when that does happen, it’s likely going to spell bad news for Bello. While he showed improvement after being used behind an opener to begin the month, his struggles against the Braves (who admittedly feature a very dangerous lineup) have set him back to square one.
Minnesota’s lineup doesn’t pose the same sort of threat as Atlanta’s, so Bello should have an opportunity to get himself back on track on Saturday. Time is running out for him to prove he should remain in the starting rotation once Garrett Crochet returns from injury, and another bad performance against the Twins could be enough to seal his fate.
Red Sox Announce Brayan Bello Decision for Twins Game