Prior to Wednesday night's Red Sox' 4-2 win over the Rangers, a couple of Texas players were lounging about in the visitors' dugout. The conversation turned to the starting pitcher they were about to face.
"Bello. He's their guy, huh," one of the Rangers noted.
He certainly is.
Word has now officially gotten out about the Red Sox pitcher - even if some of his opponents struggle not pronouncing his name like "Jell-O". Bello has evolved into one of the most coveted commodities a team can have. He is "the guy" when it comes to the club's collections of starting pitchers.
It's the kind of image many have been bemoaning the Red Sox lost out on, watching Nathan Eovaldi from the other side of the field the last few days. (Eovaldi had told his agents the Red Sox were the no-doubt-about-it No. 1 choice in free agency, but the team chose not to loop back with their initial offer a second time around after allocating the money elsewhere.)
Eovaldi is gone. He is a Ranger. He is pitching Thursday. And he may very well be starting the All-Star Game.
And while such a reality would seem to represent a miss for the Red Sox, they certainly have come across a pretty good distraction. That would be their new "guy", Bello. They probably should have both, but at least they have one.
With the Red Sox' starting rotation taking on water, Bello has represented all things that come with being a rotation's anchor and ace. When he pitches, you have a pretty good idea he is going to give you innings and production, with Wednesday serving as the latest example.
Without his best stuff, Bello limited one of the American League's best offenses to just two runs over seven innings while throwing a career-high 107 pitches.
It was the fifth consecutive start Bello has gone six or more innings while allowing two or fewer runs. He is the first Red Sox pitcher to accomplish such a feat prior to turning 25 years old since Roger Clements in 1986. The righty is also now 3-1 with a 1.82 ERA and a .185 opponent batting average in his last five starts.
The other part of the equation Bello has presented - which should mean a lot to this version of the Red Sox and their fan base - is the anticipation that comes with his starts. In a sea of semi-innocuous games to try and prioritize, Bello's starts have jumped to the top of the list, with the most recent attendance figure of 36,136 offering the latest evidence.
He pitches with confidence. His repertoire is somewhat unpredictable. And you have a pretty good idea he is still going to be in the game by the time 8:30 p.m. rolls around.
All of that is gold these days for this team.
“I think the first couple outings, he had missed the first part of the season, and then coming back a little amped up, [he was off],” noted Justin Turner. “Just to see him kind of hone it in and start pitching, not trying to just ‘stuff it’ out there has been key. His last six, seven starts have been outstanding.”
