For my own secretive reason I decided that Brayan Bello’s MLB debut would be one I’d attend.
I struggle with the ballpark. As much as I love Fenway, I would gladly give up going there for 5 years if they would just retrofit 25,000 wide & cushy seats into the old park, disposing of the rest, making it comfortable for humans over 150 pounds.
Screw it. I would sacrifice comfort for history. I would see the guy that Pedro Martinez says has a “super unique set of talent and heart. And the most important one. The brain”.[i]
Yeah. It’s not good English. But you know what Pedro was saying.
I drove the Pike eastward recalling other Fenway debuts I’d attended. Justin Masterson came to mind. The son of missionaries, the 6’6” righty allowed just 1 run in 6 innings, striking out 4 Angels on April 24, 2008. Justin went on to a very good 8 year career. He led the league in starts (34 in 2012) and shutouts (3 in 2013) as an Indian. Besides all of that, he was a very nice person.
On July 7, 2022, at 7:05 pm, Bello threw a 95 mph sinker for a strike to Josh Lowe of Tampa, his first chuck. A scouting report (soxprospects.com)said that his sink is his best pitch. He can throw it low in the zone, inducing swinging strikes and ground ball outs consistently.
Mr. Lowe briskly clocked the very next pitch 350 feet to center where Jarren Duran captured it for out #1. Yandy Diaz then pelted the Green Monster with a double. Wander Franco than singled Yandy home.
After an infield single by Slim Fast Choi, Bello ended the inning with a dandy 1-4-3 double play.
With the exception of Slim Fast, all contact by Tampa hitters therein was s-o-l-i-d. BB seemed so hittable.
The next 3 innings were up and down for Bello. He faced just 4 batters in the scoreless second. He exploded in the third – yielding 2 walks and 3 hits, but managing to look great while striking out Franco. Bello finished with 4 innings, 6 hits, 3 walks and 4 earned runs.
Meanwhile, soft tossing Corey Kluber fired cheese sticks and wet noodles at the baffled Red Sox batters. 85 mph cutter. 82 mph curve. 89 mph sinker. 80 mph curve. (According to the scoreboard.) They couldn’t touch the guy.
The final was Tampa 7, Boston 1. Bello took the loss.
You may know that one Boston paper had touted BB as the most important pitching prospect in Beantown since Jon Lester, and that the youngster might be as good as Pedro Martinez.
Points of comparison: In his 2006 debut, Lester went 5 innings and allowed 3 earned runs. He rebounded in his next start: 1 run in 6 innings. Pretty damn good.
Pedro Martinez’s debut as a starter (1992) was even better. He gave up 2 runs in 6 innings, striking out 7. His second start was a giant step backwards, but what the hey. Great things take time.
Mr. Bello was athletic, nimble and quite capable of “easy speed” in his debut, I say. He also looked nervous.
The Red Sox have many reasons to believe that this game was a stress induced disaster and that he has the tools needed.
I’ll watch his second start this evening with great interest.
[i] https://985thesportshub.com/2022/07/06/mazz-what-pedro-martinez-is-saying-or-texting-about-bryan-bello/
At home at fenway 