The Red Sox lost today 6-5, meaning that they lost the series in Oakland. Today, Red Sox starter Bryan Bello gave up six runs, only going four innings. The runs he gave up were significant, and while the Red Sox bullpen didn’t give up any runs, the deficit that Bello left the Red Sox offense with was just too big. Although the Red Sox did make a late-inning push, as they so often do, they came up just short, ending the game with the tying run at second base. Luckily for the Sox, the teams in front of them in the wildcard race have not been playing incredibly well of late, and the Sox are still only 2.5 games out of a wildcard spot.
Today, in just four innings, Bryan Bello got lit up for six runs off of three two-run homers. The runs that Bryan gave up today are as many as he has given up in his last three starts combined. Surprisingly enough, the Red Sox have lost the last two games that have been pitched by Bello and Paxton. With so many other starters hurt, these were the guys that were consistently great for so long. Before today, the Red Sox were 5-1 in Bello’s last six starts. Paxton won the AL Pitcher of the Month award in July with a 1.74 ERA. So if those two guys took care of business in their starts like they have been doing all year, the Red Sox would be 5-1 since the all-star break. I say that because the Red Sox offense gave them run support. The Red Sox scored four runs for Paxton on Saturday and five today for Bello. While those are not ridiculous amounts of runs, you would expect it would be enough for those guys. However, I don’t mean this to be a huge indictment of Bello and Paxton. You can’t expect them to be good every time; however, the Red Sox need them to be good with all the injuries in the rotation.
While Nick Pivetta didn’t pitch in today’s game, I needed to mention what he did in the series opener. Pivetta came out of the bullpen and struck out 13 batters! That is the most strikeouts from a reliever in Red Sox history. This was a continuation of what Pivetta has been doing since he moved to the bullpen. Since the transition, he has a 2.31 ERA with a K% of 38.2%, which ranks fourth in the MLB among relievers. His opponents’ batting average of .124 is the second-best in the MLB. This guy has actually been an elite reliever. If you had said that to Red Sox fans earlier in the season, they would probably have laughed. That’s for no reason other than because he was terrible as a starter. As a starter, he had an awful 6.30 ERA, with an opponent’s batting average of .270. If you remember, the last time we saw Pivetta in the pen was during the 2021 postseason, where he was also electric. Most will remember his performance in game three of the ALDS, where he went four crucial innings to help the Sox win that game in 13 innings. In that entire postseason, he was 1-0 with a 2.63 ERA. So, whether or not Pivetta has to be moved back to the rotation, he has shown that he is a great weapon for Alex Cora.
Whether or not the Red Sox will be buyers or sellers will be decided in the next few weeks. The Red Sox will host the Mets and Braves at Fenway before going back to the west coast to face the Giants and Mariners. The Red Sox didn’t help themselves by losing to the A’s, but they aren’t exactly playing a great Mets team either. The Mets have probably been the biggest disappointment in baseball this year. Despite having the highest payroll in baseball, they are five games under .500 and fourth in their division. The Sox will open up that series on Friday after the off-day on Thursday. James Paxton will be the starting pitcher for the Sox, and he will be trying to bounce back after his start against the Cubs. The Mets, on the other hand, will start with Kodai Senga, their first-year pitcher from Japan. The Mets will look to win their second straight series, while the Sox will look to get back on track and secure a win.
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