Red Sox 4, Braves 10: Two Steps Back

Maybe they’ll take a step forward tomorrow

Last night, after Devers launched his first career walk-off home run, I tweeted the above. As I mentioned in the game thread, it’s rare that a single play is truly a catalyst to change the direction of a team. To think that one swing would change the season as a whole would be foolish, but it did win the game and give the Red Sox a chance to take a series off a good team.

The Red Sox, of course, did not take that chance. The pitching was, simply put, bad. Brayan Bello had no command whatsoever. Pitchers were either over the heart of the plate or non-competitive, with no in between. Over 4.1 innings of work, Bello allowed ten hits and five walks. After Rafael Devers hit the first grand slam in over a year in the bottom of the third to take the lead, it looked like Bello had found a groove, getting two quick outs. He failed to put away both Alex Verdugo and Austin Riley with two strikes, and the Braves never looked back from there. They grabbed three more runs in the fifth, and another three in the eighth off Sean Newcomb. All of the Red Sox runs came on Devers’ grand slam.

The Red Sox need more out of Brayan Bello. While some of the hits he allowed were unfortunate, broken bats and soft contact that found grass, five walks are too many. He needs to start missing bats and throwing more quality strikes. 4.1 innings isn’t enough, especially from someone with stuff like Bello’s.

Three Studs

Rafael Devers (2-4, HR)

David Hamilton (2-4)

Sean Newcomb (4.2 IP, 3 ER)

Three Duds

Brayan Bello (4.1 IP, 7 ER, 10 H, 3 K, 5 BB)

Trevor Story (0-4)

Wilyer Abreu (0-4)