The Red Sox have them right where they want them
Yes, the Yankees didn't have Aaron Judge. And maybe there is still some discomfort when it comes to these Red Sox because of their sudden offensive downturn.
But as the Sox left Yankee Stadium Sunday night there were a couple of hat-hanging items leaving New York with them.
For starters, the Red Sox actually won the series against the Yankees thanks to a 3-2, 10-inning, series finale victory in which Kiké Hernandez's single and Chris Martin's save won the day in the lone extra inning.
And then there were the starters.
The hope that the Red Sox will be finding their foundation sooner than later was highlighted in these three games thanks to Garret Whitlock, Tanner Houck and Brayan Bello.
The trio went 19 1/3 innings, allowing five earned runs (2.33 ERA) while striking out 15 and walking just five. And along the way they left the kind of impression that suggests the starting rotation will be the least of the Red Sox problems.
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And the most recent advertisement for the dynamic came in the form of Brayan Bello.
The 24-year-old allowed just two runs on three hits over seven innings, lowing his ERA to 3.78. In his last eight starts, Bello has accumulated a 2.80 ERA, having not surrendered a home run in any of his last three starts.
"This is who we believe (Bello) is," Hernández told reporters. “This is a kid who came into the league with all the hype in the world and struggled a little bit. It seemed like he got better with each start.
"This year, he really didn’t get a spring training. He had to basically go through Spring Training during the regular season, The first couple of outings were not what he wanted. He was sent down for a little bit. He came back up with a great attitude. Same story as last year; he takes the mound. He seems like he gets better. I think he is mature beyond his years."
While the record doesn't necessarily show the starting pitching progress since that first game in Arizona (7-9), the results should be noted. In those 16 starts the Sox starters have a combined 3.78 ERA, having struck out 76 and walked 19 in 78 2/3 innings. On three times during that stretch has the group allowed more than three runs.
Whitlock. Houck. Bello. James Paxton. And, now, Kutter Crawford. And, to top things off, Nick Pivetta's existence in the bullpen had him throwing the hardest pitch of his career (97.3 mph) Sunday night.
It's movement in the right direction for a team needing to take those sort of steps.