Red Sox reactions: Brayan Bello shines in win overshadowed by
BOSTON– Instantaneous responses from a gritty 6-1 win for the Red Sox (18-16) in which Triston Casas was stretchered off after suffering what might be a serious left leg injury:1) Results aside, the story of Friday night is Casas, who as soon as again appears like he’s headed for an extended absence due to injury. It was tough to inform exactly what happened as part of the gnarly accident that sent him out of the game– and into an ambulance on a stretcher– in the second inning, however the fact he was unable to get up on his own as well as his body movement made it look like he was really concerned about what occurred. Checking will likely continue into the morning Saturday.2) The Red Sox required somebody to step up as their clear No. 2 starter behind Garrett Crochet from the start of the season and Walker Buehler’s shoulder injury just makes that require more acute. The truth that Brayan Bello– who enabled one work on 4 hits and struck out five in 6 2/3 innings– has actually come on very strong in his first 3 outings of 2025 is a really excellent sign for Boston. If this is the year Bello puts it all together, the Red Sox might have among the best 1-2 punches at the top of their rotation in the big leagues.Bello, who made
his season debut on April 22, now has a 2.55 through 17 2/3 innings to start the year. The only blip for him Friday was a rocket Ryan Jeffers homer in the 3rd. He got a great ovation from the Fenway crowd as he departed.3) The game totally altered when the Twins replaced starter Joe Ryan and turned to their bullpen, which was putrid.Ryan, as it appears like he typically protests the Red Sox, was similarly as dominant as Bello. One of the more underrated arms in the big leagues, the righty held the Red Sox to an only work on four hits while starting out eight batters in six innings. When he left, it was a 1-1 game.Then came the avalanche for Boston’s offense, who had more than double the amount of hits they carried out in 6 innings against Ryan in the last 2 frames against three Minnesota relievers (Louis Varland, Danny Coulombe and Jorge Alcala). The final tally? Five runs and 9 hits in the seventh and 8th combined.4 )The Red Sox discovered, as soon as again, the value of putting the ball in play in a well put-together seventh inning. After Connor Wong and David Hamilton each hit soft singles off Varland to lead things off, Ceddanne Rafaela put 2 males in scoring position for the top of the order with a sacrifice bunt. Hard lefty Coulombe then struck out Jarren Duran and got 2 strikes on Rafael Devers before the slugger roped a 102.8 mph hopper into the 2nd base hole. Edouard Julien couldn’t corral it and both runs scored to break a 1-1 tie and provide Boston the lead for excellent.5)After 2 ruthless nights north of the border, Boston’s bullpen was as soon as again
charged with holding on to a small lead. This time, with a somewhat different cast of characters, they did. Greg Weissert worked around a single in a scoreless eighth in a two-run game, and Alex Cora was preparing to turn to closer Aroldis Chapman for the ninth. Then, the Sox scored 3 times in the eighth, Chapman took a seat and Liam Hendriks can be found in to shut the door with a five-run lead. He did so on 10 pitches.6) Alex Bregman has yet to cool off. After an exceptional series in
Toronto, he returned to Fenway with a bang, providing Bello and the Red Sox an immediate 1-0 lead with a blast to left off Joe Ryan. That’s his 3rd Fenway homer of the year. There would seem to be plenty more to come. He included a double later in the game.7 )Romy Gonzalez might discover himself playing a lot if Casas needs to miss substantial time,
as expected. He got in rhythm with an RBI double that supplied an insurance run in the 8th, then promptly stole 3rd and scored. The Red Sox were 4-for-4 nabbing bases against Jeffers.8 )Hamilton got in the night just 3-for-33(.091)to begin the season, then set out in his first at-bat.
In an effort to create instant offense out of the No. 8 spot, Hamilton successfully bunted for a hit with one out on the fifth, then stole both second and third. The Red Sox couldn’t get him in, but it was worth a shot. Rafaela’s bunt a couple innings later on proved more impactful.Hamilton then had real hits in his next two at-bats, consisting of a wall-ball double to make it a 5-1 game (and no longer a conserve circumstance)in the bottom of the 8th.9)Bello published a quality start, and it was the sixth straight such outing from a Red Sox starter. Believe it or not, that’s the longest quality start streak from Boston’s personnel since 2017(8).10 )With Walker Buehler on the injured list due to take on bursitis, the Red Sox will turn to novice Hunter Dobbins(2-0, 2.45 ERA)in Saturday’s middle game of the series. The Twins will send Bailey Ober(3-1, 4.13 ERA) to the mound. Very first pitch is at 4:10 p.m. ET.Expect the Red Sox to make a roster transfer to replace Casas eventually before the game.More Red Sox protection