Brayan Bello Punched the Dugout Rail. The Rest of Us Just Punched a Wall.
The Red Sox lose 8-1 to the Blue Jays, get swept in Toronto, and somehow make a team that was 8-13 look like the 1927 Yankees.
Brayan Bello Is the Most Expensive Bad Pitcher in New England History
Let’s establish something before we dive in.
Brayan Bello is under contract through 2029. Six years, $55 million. The Red Sox handed this man the keys to the rotation and said, “You’re our guy.” And their guy just got pulled in the fourth inning — again — after throwing 63 pitches, giving up 6 hits and 4 earned runs to a Blue Jays lineup that came into this series eight games under .500.
His ERA is now 9.12.
Not 4.50. Not 5.80. Not even a polite “he’s struggling.” Nine point one two. That is not an ERA. That is a 911 call. That is the number you dial when something has gone catastrophically, structurally wrong and you need professional help immediately.
And the cherry on top? As interim manager Chad Tracy walked to the mound to pull him, Bello shook his head — vigorously, repeatedly, almost angrily. When he returned to the dugout, he paced, kept shaking his head, and then punched the top rail of the dugout.
Sir. Sir. You gave up 5 runs in 3⅔ innings. You do not get to be mad. The fans watching from Fenway on NESN are mad. The guy who paid $14 for a Bello shirsey last season is mad. You are the reason we are all mad. Put the rail down and go think about what you’ve done.
The Third Inning Was a Crime Scene
Walk with me through the third inning, because it needs to be documented for posterity.
Bello came out of the second inning looking okay. Six batters, one hit. Fine. Manageable. Then the third inning happened, and it happened fast.
Five hits. A walk. Three runs. In one inning. Against a lineup missing George Springer for most of the month. The Blue Jays didn’t even need to be patient or clever — they just hit the ball and it kept finding grass.
The Blue Jays’ rally in the third ended only when Kazuma Okamoto was thrown out at the plate on Yohendrick Piñango’s single — meaning even when things went right for Boston, it was accidental. The only reason that inning wasn’t worse is because Toronto got greedy on the bases. The Boston Globe
Tracy left Bello in to start the fourth because hope springs eternal, or perhaps because the bullpen was still doing stretches. Bello retired the first two batters. Things were looking up! Briefly! For approximately 90 seconds!
Then he walked Brandon Valenzuela on five pitches.
Brandon Valenzuela. The backup catcher. The guy who entered the game hitting .220. A five-pitch walk to the nine-hole hitter was the final straw. Tracy came out, Bello shook his head, and the rest was history — specifically, the kind of history you try to forget.
Greg Weissert Saw His Opportunity and Made Everything Worse
If you thought the changing of the pitchers would bring relief, you have clearly not been watching this team.
Greg Weissert jogged in from the bullpen, looked at Ernie Clement standing in the batter’s box, and promptly served up a two-run home run. Ernie Clement. A man with three career home runs who looks like he sells insurance in the offseason. Gone. Instant two-run shot. Just like that, it’s 5-1, Bello is punching furniture in the dugout, and the Red Sox road trip has officially entered the “at least we’re going home” phase.
Garrett Whitlock then came in later and gave up a solo shot of his own. His ERA is now sitting at 9.00 on the season, which means Boston’s starter and long reliever are essentially tied for “most catastrophically paid men in Toronto this week.”
The bullpen’s collective ERA for this game? A cozy 27.00 from Weissert alone. The 27 ERA. From a guy whose job it is to stop the bleeding. Instead, he showed up with scissors.
The Offense Had One Good Moment, Then Immediately Blew It
In fairness — and we try to be fair here, even when it’s painful — Willson Contreras bashed a home run in the first inning, a 406-foot no-doubter to left field. It was majestic. It gave you hope. For approximately four minutes, Rogers Centre had a Red Sox energy to it. The Boston Globe
Then nothing. For eight more innings, nothing.
The Red Sox finished 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position. One for eight. They had 9 hits total — which sounds respectable until you realize they left 8 men on base and scored exactly 1 run. This offense has figured out the most maddening possible way to be bad: get on base constantly, look like they’re about to do something, and then absolutely crater when it matters.
In the fifth inning, three consecutive singles loaded things up and inspired Toronto manager John Schneider to pull Eric Lauer. Then Contreras lined out to shortstop Andrés Giménez, who threw to second base to double off Caleb Durbin for an inning-ending double play. The Boston Globe
A double play. To end the inning. On a line drive. Off a left-handed pitcher who was being pulled anyway. This team finds ways to lose that haven’t been invented yet.
Roman Anthony went 1-for-5. Connor Wong went 0-for-4. Ceddanne Rafaela went 0-for-4. Andruw Monasterio went 0-for-3. At some point Chad Tracy has to look at this lineup card and just start writing in names from the stadium tour group.
The Blue Jays Were 8-13 Before This Series. Read That Again.
Toronto came into Monday night eight games under .500. Max Scherzer on the IL. Springer hobbling back from a broken toe. And they just outscored the Red Sox 11-1 across the last two games and handed Boston a series loss after winning game one on Monday.
Brandon Valenzuela — the backup catcher who drew the walk that ended Bello’s day — went 2-for-4 with 3 runs scored and hit a home run later in the game. The man was an afterthought in the lineup and wound up being the most impactful hitter on the field. Against the Boston Red Sox pitching staff, backup catchers become All-Stars. It’s a whole thing.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. went 3-for-5 with 2 runs scored, because of course he did. He is physically incapable of having a bad game against Boston. At this point the Red Sox should just intentionally walk him every single at-bat, go 0-for-30 with RISP, and lose 3-1 instead of 8-1. At least that’s progress.
Chad Tracy Is Running Out of Diplomatic Things to Say
The interim manager, who came in riding a three-game winning streak and the goodwill of a fan base that will literally cheer anything after Alex Cora got fired, now has his first series loss and a 12-18 record on his hands.
He has handled everything with grace and composure, which is admirable, because if you handed us this roster and this pitching staff we would have already declared a state of emergency and called the governor.
Somewhere, Alex Cora is sitting on his couch, watching Bello punch the dugout rail, and for the first time in weeks, genuinely smiling.
Where We Stand: It’s Not Good
The Boston Red Sox are 12-19 after today’s loss. They have been outscored, out-pitched, and out-hustled by a team that was losing more than it was winning coming into this week. Bello’s ERA sits at 9.12. The bullpen is held together with duct tape and misplaced optimism. The offense does everything except score when it counts.
And the Houston Astros come to Fenway on Friday.
The same Astros who already beat the Red Sox earlier this season. The same Astros with Yordan Alvarez, who hits Bello like he owes him money.
Great. Can’t wait.
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