Interim manager Chad Tracy praised Brayan Bello’s swagger and sharp pitching after the Boston Red Sox fell 4-3 to the Cleveland Guardians on Friday evening, despite a 4-0 deficit after the first inning.
Friday evening in Cleveland started the way the Red Sox have tried to avoid all season: quickly, and badly. Boston dropped four runs in the first inning and watched their footing slip before Brayan Bello ever touched the mound.
When Bello did enter the picture—replacing Tyler Samaniego after the first inning—Boston finally looked like it belonged in the game. Interim manager Chad Tracy didn’t hesitate to highlight it afterward, calling Bello “awesome.”
Tracy’s message was simple. but pointed: the left-hander arrived. settled things down. and gave the Red Sox a realistic chance. “He was awesome,” Tracy said. “Obviously. with the way it started. he came in and quieted that game down pretty quickly and gave us a shot. Pounded the strike zone, changeup was working, cutter in the right location, ahead in the count. He was as good as you could ask for.”.
Those aren’t just compliments about results. Tracy also described what Bello looked like in the moments between pitches. “I don’t know that you can make sense of it. The most important thing for me right now is that he looked great. Not only did he look great. but had a swagger about him on the mound that we’ve seen in the past.”.
Bello is in the fifth season of his major-league career. He mostly appears as a starter, but he has also stepped onto the mound as a reliever when needed. That reliever role is exactly what he filled in Boston’s series opener against Cleveland, taking over after the first inning.
He finished with seven innings of service, striking out five batters and allowing just four hits.
The Red Sox still lost 4-3, even with the rally that followed. After falling behind 4-0 after the first inning, Boston managed to score three runs during the rest of the game. They pushed, they threatened, but Cleveland held them at arm’s length and stopped their advances.
By the end of it, the defeat left Boston with a 23-33 record and at the bottom of the AL East Division standings. The Red Sox were behind both the Baltimore Orioles and the Toronto Blue Jays.
But with Game 2 of the three-game series next, there’s at least one clear takeaway for a team trying to find answers: when Bello was asked to quiet the early damage, he did it—and Tracy said he did it with the kind of confidence the club needs.
The Red Sox will look to bounce back in their second of three games against the Guardians, with Game 2 scheduled for May 30 at 4:10 p.m. ET.
Boston Red Sox Cleveland Guardians Brayan Bello Chad Tracy MLB AL East Tyler Samaniego May 30 Game 2