The Boston Red Sox finished off a four-game sweep of the Orioles in Baltimore Sunday, with a 3-1 victory behind a sox-inning, 12 strikeout performance by rookie left-hander Payton Tolle, who walked no one.
Before they got on the plane back to Boston, the Red Sox made an announcement about Monday’s starting pitcher.
Brayan Bello will take the mound as a traditional starter for the Boston Red Sox on Monday, Sept. 7, facing the Los Angeles Angels, his first shot at holding a rotation spot since a series of first-inning collapses buried him in June, interim manager Chad Tracy announced.
Tracy is once again betting that a pitcher who has thrived almost exclusively in relief this season can hold up when a lineup turns over for a second and third look.
Bello, 5-7 with a 5.07 ERA overall, is set to face Angels right-hander Grayson Rodriguez in a 1:35 p.m. matinee at Fenway Park, according to CBS Sports’ Red Sox schedule. It marks his first traditional turn through the rotation since a disastrous June 4 outing against Baltimore.
Brayan Bello’s Red Sox Return Follows Painful Collapse
That afternoon, Bello faced 12 Orioles hitters in the first inning alone, allowing six runs on six hits, three walks and a hit batter over 40 pitches before finally escaping, according to Boston.com‘s Conor Ryan. Nine of Baltimore’s first 10 hitters reached base, and Boston optioned him to Triple-A Worcester within hours of the resulting 8-2 loss. Entering that game, Bello already carried a 9.68 ERA across seven starts. By the final out of his start, his first-inning ERA had climbed to a season-worst 16.88.
“It just feels like for us to be successful, we need Bello to start,” Tracy said ahead of that game, as quoted by Boston.com.
Bello, speaking through an interpreter, framed the collapse as bad luck rather than a role problem. “It’s not whether I’m a starter or I’m a reliever. It’s just, having a bad season,” he said, as quoted by Boston.com.
Boston Red Sox Need a Different Brayan Bello This Time
Since his July 12 recall from Worcester, Bello has worked almost exclusively as a bulk reliever, and the transformation has been jarring. He carries a 10.35 ERA as a starter this season — but a 2.03 ERA out of the bullpen. His strikeout rate nearly doubles in relief work, his walk rate drops by roughly two-thirds, and his expected ERA swings from 8.42 as a starter to 3.34 as a reliever, MLB.com reported.
The split arrives during a chaotic stretch for Boston, which fired manager Alex Cora, ripped off a 27-3 run and acquired Adley Rutschman from Baltimore all while last year’s ace Garrett Crochet’s return from injury remains unscheduled. Bello’s most recent relief outings have been shakier than his midsummer stretch, allowing four runs in each of his last two appearances, including three innings against Seattle on Sept. 2, when he volunteered to pitch again on short rest because Boston’s bullpen was thin.
Boston is still paying Bello $6.2 million this season under the six-year, $55 million extension he signed in 2024, a deal running through at least 2029.
Monday will show whether that willingness to take the ball translates into a full turn through the rotation, or whether the Angels expose the same first-inning trouble that sent Bello to the minors three months ago.
Red Sox Announce Unusual Brayan Bello Decision Before Angels Series Opener