Boston defeated Baltimore 8-3 at Camden Yards thanks to Bello’s five and a half innings of relief work that yielded three runs, five hits, two walks, and seven strikeouts.
“He was feeling sick throughout the day,” Cora said. “So we sent him to the hotel and he grinded through it. And just to go out there and pitch like that was good to see. That’s a good baseball team, a really good baseball team. But his stuff (any) given night can get the best lineups out. He was relentless today.”
Bello said he felt “a little sick” even back in Boston before the Red Sox traveled here to Baltimore.
“But that wasn’t going to stop me from giving 100% today,” Bello said through translator Daveson Pérez.
Bello threw 29 pitches in the first inning. He allowed two singles, one double, a walk (after getting ahead 0-2 in the count to Adley Rutschman) and hit by pitch.
But the 25-year-old righty allowed just two base runners (walk and single) while keeping the O’s scoreless over the next three innings. He struck out the side in the second inning and the first two batters of the third inning.
“I think in that first inning my body wasn’t really all the way warmed up yet,” Bello said. “But after we got past that, I was able to do what I do.”
In the sixth, Bello gave up a single and a hit by pitch to the first two batters who reached, and manager Alex Cora replaced him with reliever Brennan Bernardino. After loading the bases by walking the first batter he faced, Bernardino set to work.
Austin Hays was struck out by Bernardino on a foul tip, which was the first out. For the second out of the game, he got Jorge Mateo to ground into a force-out at home. The southpaw then managed to escape without giving up a run by striking out 2023 AL Rookie of the Year Gunnar Henderson on three pitches. Boston was still ahead 4-3.
