The Boston Red Sox's home opening loss to the Baltimore Orioles on April 9 was their most lopsided one of the season. On their 10-game West Coast road trip, the Red Sox didn't lose by more than one run in any of their three defeats.
Baltimore got the better of Boston on Tuesday. More accurately, the Sox defense let the O's run wild and they collected seven runs off mostly defensive miscues. But Brayan Bello, Boston's young "ace," pitched well.
The Red Sox trusted Bello to make his second Opening Day start, this time, at Fenway Park. The young right-hander had a hard act to follow after Boston's 20th-anniversary celebration of the 2004 World Series-winning team, which was led by his mentor and one of the greatest pitchers to play the game, Pedro Martínez.
But Bello followed them up with a quality performance. He pitched 5.1 innings, fanned three batters and allowed two walks and four hits. Three runs also crossed while Bello was on the bump, but only one was earned. In that respect, his outing against the Orioles was his best so far.
Despite what showed on the scoreboard, Brayan Bello pitched well on Red Sox Opening Day
Brayan Bello was solid today in the Red Sox home opener; however, the defense behind him made a handful of mistakes.
— Beyond the Monster (@BeyondtheMnstr) April 9, 2024
Bello’s final line: 5.1 IP, 4 H, 1 ER/ 3 R, 3 K, 2 BB pic.twitter.com/jJtFIpkZVK
Bello has a history of poorer performances in day games compared to his showings in night games. In 2023, Bello's day-game ERA sat at 6.94 after 10 appearances. His night-game average was significantly lower at 3.06 after 18 starts.
Boston's defense is feeling the lack of Trevor Story in the field. The Sox have let up eight unearned runs since Story exited their matchup against the Angels on April 5 and Boston's rough defense ended up the main takeaway of its first home game against the Orioles.
But Red Sox fans can take solace in Bello breaking a personal jinx. He pitched a good game during the day, and it could be the one confidence boost he needed to change the tides of this bad trend.