Boston's Brayan Bello Shines in Return to Major Leagues
With a chance to extend their winning streak to nine games before the All-Star break, the Boston Red Sox called on Brayan Bello, who hadn't pitched in the big leagues since he was demoted over a month ago.
As a part of a scheduled piggyback for starter Payton Tolle, Bello came on in relief in the fourth inning of a one-run ballgame on the road against the New York Mets. The right-hander gave his team just what was needed to pull off a thrilling 3-2 extra-inning victory, offering 4.1 innings of one-run ball, allowing just two hits with no walks and five strikeouts.
The lone run of his impressive outing came on a Francisco Lindor solo home run in the bottom of the sixth. But Bello's ability to bounce back from the blemish and work deep into the game allowed the Red Sox to go straight to Aroldis Chapman for the ninth once they tied things up and eventually use Garrett Whitlock to close out the game in the tenth.
Some nasty movement on this changeup from Brayan Bello. pic.twitter.com/ensZoFFkRv
— Tyler Milliken (@tylermilliken_) July 12, 2026
Bello's disastrous start to the season was strangely dependent on his role. As a starter, he posted a 10.35 ERA and went 1-6 across eight games (35.2 innings). But when used in a bulk role behind an opener, the 27-year-old held a near perfect 0.91 ERA through five games (29.2 innings). Despite his personal success in this spot, openers struggled in front of him and Boston made the tough decision to option him to the minor leagues on June 4th.
Bringing Bello back so soon after his demotion seemed like a risky proposition, especially considering his mixed results in Triple-A. In his four starts after going down, Bello held a 4.34 ERA and was not pushed deep into games, logging just 18.2 innings.
With Ranger Suarez unable to make his start on Saturday, there was some speculation that Bello would return for a spot start with the righty being held back from pitching for the WooSox all week. But after they used rookie reliever Eduardo Rivera for the start instead, it appears Boston would prefer to use Bello out of the bullpen for the rest of the year should he stick around with the big-league club.
Sunday's sharp strong outing was a reminder of why Bello is an important piece for the now red-hot Sox. Needing just 55 pitches to get 13 outs, he showed several glimpses of his impressive 2025 campaign, leaning on the changeup (29% usage) and sweeper (29%) to generate weak contact and eight total whiffs.
The need for Bello to contribute on a regular basis largely will depend on the health of Suarez (groin) and Connelly Early (elbow). But if he can continue to produce quality performances out of the pen, providing length and helping to take a load off of the rookie Tolle, it is hard to imagine he won't be a factor for the surging Red Sox as they look to carry this momentum into the second half of the season.
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This story was originally published July 12, 2026 at 7:14 PM.