Red Sox pitching coach weighs in on starter's struggles

Red Sox pitching coach weighs in on starter's struggles

Just a few months ago, Brayan Bello was the Opening Day starter for the Boston Red Sox, an honor that typically goes to the best pitcher on the staff.

However, this year has been a struggle for the 25-year-old, as he's posted a 5.55 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP while striking out 64 in his 14 starts. That includes his horrendous outing against the Toronto Blue Jays this week that saw him give up seven earned runs on five hits and three walks over 2 1/3 innings.

While Bello is confused about his poor start to the season, which has included a stint on the injured list, Red Sox pitching coach Andrew Bailey sees some good and some bad in what the starter is doing.

“The stuff is good, stuff is quality,” Bailey said (via. MassLive). “In some areas, it’s even better than last year. I think it gets back to command, consistency, being ahead in counts. He’s a contact pitcher and gets a ton of ground balls. You look at the big innings and it’s 3-and-1 to a walk, 3-and-1 to a walk, a 1-and-0 homer. So if you look at his splits on the season between pitchers’ counts and hitters’ counts, there’s a stark difference.

“It’s a little bit of (too much contact), it’s suppressing the home runs, the big moments. But if you look at it really, it’s just the damage (being done) behind in the count. And as a young guy, trying to navigate through struggles for the first time in his career, long-term it’s a good thing. We’re going to grow and develop from this. We can take pieces of (the struggles) now and down the road and always reflect back on it and learn and grow. Long-term, definitely not concerned. I think we have to get back to consistency of execution, being aggressive in the (strike) zone, and challenging hitters.”

Before the season Boston inked Bello to a six-year extension worth $55 million, and it looked to be a steal after how he pitched at times during his first two seasons.

However, at this point, he's been the worst starter in the rotation, and Boston is giving him an extra rest day before his next start. If things don't look better, it'll be hard to justify trotting him out there every fifth day.