Brayan Bello is one step closer to rejoining the Boston Red Sox pitching staff, and he made that clear on Friday night. The 25-year-old pitcher made his third rehab outing with Triple-A Worcester. Although he faced some trouble early, he was largely dominant.
Bello pitched four innings, struck out five, walked none, and allowed two runs. After running into trouble in the second inning, the Dominican-born pitcher retired his last nine opponents to finish his outing.
«He is in the same thing, similar to [Lucas] Giolito,» pitching coach Dan DeLucia told El Emergente. «He’s going to increase his pitch count—he is been trending in a really good direction. We have had him for a couple of outings now, and he is really starting to put his foot on the gas, so to speak. He’s commanding the ball a lot better.»
Manager Alex Cora told MassLive.com that he is not ready to give a timetable for when Brayan Bello will rejoin the big-league team. However, it seems likely that he wants Bello to complete at least five innings or reach 80 pitches before making a decision.
Bello threw 64 pitches on Friday and showed great velocity
«His velocity was mid to upper 90s, so just looking to progress on that», said DeLucia. «Really keep his arsenal and attack plan where it is, but just increase the pitch count in any counter».
READ MORE: Lucas Giolito inches closer to MLB return: «He needs to increase his pitch count»
Brayan Bello has been dealing with right shoulder inflammation since Spring Training. He didn’t pitch during Spring Training. He has already made three starts with Triple-A Worcester and will likely make another one next week while the team is in Rochester.
