Nothing is going right this season for the Boston Red Sox, and starting pitcher Brayan Bello is having the worst season of anyone on the roster.
Wednesday was Bello's sixth start of the year, and it marked a new low point for morale. After getting through two scoreless innings, he let up three runs in the third, then got pulled with two outs in the fourth when he walked the Toronto Blue Jays' No. 9 hitter, Brandon Valenzuela.
From there, Bello let his emotions get the best of him, and he showed up interim manager Chad Tracy as he came out to the mound to make a pitching change. Bello shook his head continuously for several long moments as Tracy was walking out to take the ball. Then, when reliever Greg Weissert allowed a two-run home run to Ernie Clement, the first batter he faced, Bello slammed his fist on the dugout railing.
After the game, Bello explained that he was most upset with himself, which shouldn't excuse what an awful look it is to show up the manager after another rocky performance.
"Obviously, I was upset,” Bello said through translator Carlos Villoria Benítez, via MassLive's Christopher Smith. “I haven’t been able to pitch well in the past few starts. I haven’t been able to pitch deep into the games. That’s what I want. And today it went that way as well. So obviously, I was upset to come out of the game.
"I haven’t been able to pitch five innings in a few games, so I was very upset with myself."
At the conclusion of play on Wednesday, Bello was sporting a 9.12 ERA and 2.26 WHIP through 25 2/3 innings. He was 1-4, tying him for the most losses in Major League Baseball to this point, and he'd already racked up negative-1.2 bWAR.
In short, he's been nothing close to the pitcher who compiled a 3.35 ERA and looked like something close to a No. 2 starter for the Red Sox for most of last season. And at this point, it's touch-and-go in terms of whether he deserves to stay in the rotation for his next scheduled start.