Brayan Bello had the longest outing of his career, pitching eight innings with only two hits allowed on Wednesday night, leading the Boston Red Sox to a 3-0 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.
Bello (12-6) struck out nine and walked one. Boston improved to 6-1 in his last seven starts, though it was just his second win in eight starts since the All-Star break. The 25-year-old right-hander had previously pitched into the eighth inning only once in his career and had never recorded more than 24 outs.
“I definitely think that was one of my better starts in the big leagues, in all phases,” Bello said. “I love those games, mostly just because when the score is like that, you have to stay focused. You have to focus on executing every single pitch. I really enjoyed it.”
Bello had a 6.96 ERA in seven previous starts against Toronto.
“His best outing in the big leagues, against a team that has given him trouble,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “He was locked in. He was excited, but not too excited. He was very level, staying in the moment. And gave us a much-needed outing, where we were bullpen-wise.”
Tyler O’Neill hit a home run, Masataka Yoshida had three hits, and Kenley Jansen pitched a perfect ninth inning for his 25th save. Bello smiled and laughed when asked if he could have finished the game, but Cora said “there was no discussion” of sending his starter out for the ninth.
Boston has beaten Toronto in two straight games after being swept in (most of) a doubleheader on Monday. The Red Sox were four games behind Minnesota for the final AL wild-card spot entering the day.
