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BALTIMORE - For many, Brennan Bernardino’s night would have been grounds for giddiness.
The reliever came on to hold a one-run lead for the Red Sox in the same ballpark he first put on the Boston uniform just more than a year before, getting out of a no-out bases-loaded jam in the sixth inning on the way to his team’s 8-3 win over the Orioles. That performance, in itself, was a great story.
Then, after the Sox’ win, there was the revelation regarding the scene in Texas just prior to Opening Day when Cora had to tell Bernardino he was starting the year in Triple-A, with the club choosing to go with fellow lefty Joely Rodriguez. That was also a good anecdote.
“We had a tough conversation in Texas. He mentioned two things: heart and, well, a pair of something,” Cora said.
“I guess. It wasn’t like, I just said, ‘I’ve got balls,’” Bernardino said. “ The way it happened in there, I was free to speak.”
He added, “It was tough not making the Opening Day roster. I get the point of it and everything. Even if I didn’t make the Opening Day roster, I’m always kind of playing with a little bit of a chip on my shoulder being a late round draft pick guy and the journey I've taken. I'm just happy to be here right now.”
But the 32-year-old reliever's demeanor while meeting with the media in the same visitors' clubhouse he had first been introduced as a Red Sox was just as cool, collected and confident as he had just displayed in one of the Sox' more tense moments of the season.
After the media scrum drifted away, Bernardino explained why. For him, the real pressure and performance came 12 years before, two years even before being taken in the 26th round by the Reds.
"Being 20 years old me and my wife having our child, trying to make ends meet and still chasing our dreams. Making the relationship work. Being a good father. That was the biggest pressure moment," he told WEEI.com.
And then there was another example, five years later. Another challenge that Tuesday night pushed aside what would have been a nerve-wracking moment for most.
"It’s awesome and a fun moment and all that stuff, but it’s tough to put food on the table and stuff like that. This situation I’m in now is way better than it was. I have been evicted and all that stuff. What is this compared to that.
"I was playing Fall League before friend came to take to the field the cops came and kicked me out (of his apartment) in 2017. Those are the bigger pressure moments."
Whatever the path, Bernardino has been a savior for the Sox this season.
In his opponents' last 32 plate appearances with runners in scoring position, Bernardino has forced them to go 0-for-27. The latest feat included a strikeout of Austin Hays, inducing a force out at home on a comebacker of the bat of Jorge Mateo, and another punch out, this time fanning MVP candidate Gunnar Henderson.
In 23 innings, Bernardino has just two earned runs (0.78 ERA), while limiting hitters to a .123 batting average and .409 OPS. Just one of his 10 inherited runners have scored, a trait that this time allowed starter Brayan Bellow to pick up the win his five innings.
The story of the lefty's resilience and resolve goes even further than the two life-changing examples he cited. Remember, this was a pitcher who was performing in Mexico less than a year before the Red Sox snagged him from Seattle. But however it all happened, the Red Sox should be thankful.
It might not have been a big deal for Bernardino, but it was a big deal for his ball club.
"Ever since you're a kid, those are kind of the situations you draw up in the backyard," the pitcher said. "So it's fun actually getting to do them on this big of a stage."
"He’s been doing that since the get-go," Cora explained. "I think his only bad one this year was in Triple-A actually. He gave up five I think. He came up here trying to probably prove people wrong. It's not that we didn't believe in him. We believe in him. Just at that moment, we felt like giving Joely a shot was the right move. He was gonna be part of this regardless later on. And he's a big part of what we're trying to accomplish, not only between the lines, but in the clubhouse. He’s well respected. He understands the things that we'd like to do, and it was awesome to see him perform this way."