Young ace Brayan Bello keeps paying dividends for Red Sox

Brayan Bello will celebrate his 25th birthday on Friday, but he’s already enjoying terrific success for the Boston Red Sox.

The right-handed pitcher has also etched his name into the history books, joining Roger Clemens, Jon Lester, Aaron Sele and Eduardo Rodriguez as the only Red Sox pitchers to win at least 15 career games before age 25 — an impressive feat. Bello has excited Red Sox fans since he arrived on the scene and there’s plenty more to come from the young hurler.

Bello’s become an important starter at the top of the rotation and his prowess was on display again Sunday as he returned to the lineup after a stint on the injured list with tightness in his right latissimus dorsi, a back muscle.

He worked five innings, allowed two runs on four hits, struck out one and walked two against the Washington Nationals at Fenway Park. He tossed 68 pitches (38 strikes) to improve his record to 4-1 this season. After Boston’s 3-2 win, Red Sox manager Alex Cora described Bello’s start as just “OK.” Bello also retired the final four batters he faced after allowing a home run in the fourth inning.

More: In sports-passionate New England, Joe McDonald asks: Which team is No. 1?

“Command was off,” Cora told reporters. “For his first [start] coming off the IL — good. He’ll be ready for the next one.”

Bello agreed with that evaluation and understands he needs to be better now that he’s back.

“It feels good to be back. It feels good to help the team win,” he said. “It feels good that a lot of good things are happening for us right now.”

While Bello has the ability to reach 98 to 100 mph on the radar gun, he’s been focusing more on his sinker, changeup and slider. It’s obvious he’s comfortable throwing those pitches and he’s been able to keep opposing batters off balance. On Sunday, he picked up right where he left off.

Overall, Red Sox pitching has been solid so far this season, which is the main reason for the team's success. In fact, Boston leads the majors as the only club with a sub-3.00 ERA. The Red Sox’ starting rotation also leads the league with a 2.75 ERA and Bello has made his contributions during his brief career.

With Bello on the mound, the Red Sox are 22-12 (.647) since the beginning of the 2023 season.

The Red Sox made a smart investment when they signed Bello to a six-year, $55-million deal prior to this season. The right-hander continues to hone his abilities since signing with Boston as an international free agent on July 2, 2017. He made his major league debut in 2022 and spent the entire 2023 season with the Red Sox.

Before he landed on the IL, Bello was 3-1 with a 3.04 ERA in five starts this season. He focused on throwing more sinkers and changeups in the series finale against the Nationals on Sunday, but he’ll need to find confidence with the slider.

“That was part of the plan,” he said. “Those were the two pitches that worked the most against that team. ... I feel good with the slider, but I wasn’t hitting my spots with it so we stayed away from it.”

Bello added the pitch to his repertoire during the 2022 season with the Worcester Red Sox. It continues to be a work in progress and once he figures it out, he’s going to become even more dangerous on the mound. The other aspect to his game is his ability to pitch out of trouble, especially with two outs.

It’s no secret that Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez has been working with Bello during his Red Sox career and that relationship is paying dividends for the pitcher and the club. The two worked together several times during the offseason and again during spring training with a focus on Bello’s slider. When he arrived at spring training, he felt confident with that pitch, but he needs more consistency with it and, when that happens, it will be a crucial third-pitch option for Bello to complement his other effective pitches.

The young pitcher gained valuable experience in 2023 and carried that into his offseason workouts. He’s matured physically, mentally and emotionally on the mound and the Red Sox are expecting those strides to continue this summer. Hopefully, he’ll stay healthy for the remainder of the season and help the Red Sox win more games than most expected them to.

Bello has the personality, ability and proper mindset to become a star in Boston. The best part is that he’s only 25.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Brayan Bello returns from injured list, leads Red Sox past Washington