Brayan Bello was frazzled early in his 2025 Boston Red Sox debut. He induced a groundout of Seattle Mariners leadoff hitter Julio Rodríguez to start, but a homer off the bat of Jorge Polanco quickly took the wind out of his sails.
Bello then walked Cal Raleigh and plunked Randy Arozarena and Luke Raley to load the bases. Rowdy Tellez followed, and bounced a grounder tightly up the first base line. Triston Casas fielded it and fired to Trevor Story to get the force out at second. Story spun off the bag and zipped the ball in the vicinity of first base as Bello charged to cover.
Bello planted his foot on the bag and dove toward right field to snag the throw from Story. The first base umpire called Tellez out, but the Mariners dugout looked ready to call a challenge.
Their 15-second limit ticked by without a call. Seattle missed its chance to challenge and, as far as the scorebook says, Bello made an excellent catch to stave off a disaster in his first inning back in the big leagues.
Bello missed the entirety of spring training, healing shoulder soreness, and it showed in his outing. He hit two batters, walked three and only collected three strikeouts. The 25-year-old threw 97 pitches and just 50 of them were strikes.
Brayan Bello's Red Sox debut wasn't pretty, but he lasted five innings despite multiple challenges
Welcome back, El Niño. 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/rdIUFcnblH
— Red Sox (@RedSox) April 23, 2025
But Bello pressed on — even after a cramp in his leg. After he delivered a walk to J.P. Crawford in the fourth inning, Bello winced as he stepped on his right leg. Alex Cora and a trainer visited Bello on the mound, but he stretched out his calf, threw some warm-up pitches, and his night continued.
Bello made it through five innings and notched his last out in dramatic fashion. Randy Arozarena worked a 3-2 count and hacked at what Bello expected to be his final pitch. But Arozarena got a piece of the ball, and Bello jumped up and down on the mound — possibly in frustration, or still an attempt to loosen his right calf.
Arozarena swung and missed at his next pitch and Bello screamed and pumped his fist as he descended the mound. His outing was far from pretty, but Bello lasted five, one-run innings in his 2025 debut, despite a chaotic lack of command.
Bello has been criticized for his emotions in games. If he gets frustrated too early, his outing could spiral out of his control, and his command suffers as a result. But sometimes, adrenaline and emotions combine to help Bello stay where his feet are.
Since he missed spring training, it could take Bello a few starts to look comfortable on the hill. He posted a 3.47 ERA over 72.2 innings last year, and that's the Bello the Red Sox need with Tanner Houck struggling and amid other pitcher injuries. Sox fans are itching for a breakout from Bello, and electric moments like his final strikeout on April 22 show he has it in him.