Brayan Bello struggles in return to starter role, Red Sox lose finale

Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald on May 17, 2026

Published in Baseball

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Coming off two straight brilliant outings following an opener, the Red Sox hoped Brayan Bello could maintain that momentum upon his return to a starting role.

But on Sunday he found himself back at square one.

Bello had a rough day in Sunday’s series finale against the Atlanta Braves, allowing seven runs over five innings in the Red Sox’s 8-1 loss. Bello allowed a three-run home run to Austin Riley in the bottom of the first, and the Red Sox never seriously threatened at any point the rest of the way.

Bello found himself in trouble almost from the jump. After drawing a leadoff groundout to start the game, Bello gave up a single and a walk to put two men on with one out. He nearly drew an inning-ending double play to escape the jam, but Michael Harris II beat out the throw at first, setting the table for Riley to make the Red Sox pay.

The second inning didn’t go any smoother for Bello, who allowed a leadoff double, a single and back-to-back walks to start the inning. The second of those walks to Drake Baldwin came with the bases loaded and made it 4-0, and while Bello was able to escape without further damage, he finished the second inning with 57 pitches.

Bello posted a 1-2-3 third inning on seven pitches, but allowed a leadoff solo home run to Mike Yastrzemski to start the fourth and gave up an RBI single to Dom Smith in the fifth to make it 7-0 Atlanta.

By the time it was over Bello had allowed seven runs over five innings on eight hits with three walks, two home runs and only one strikeout.

With Sunday’s performance Bello’s ERA for the season is now 7.16, but in seven starts he has allowed 33 earned runs in 30 2/3 innings, which equates to a 9.68 ERA. By comparison, in his two bulk relief outings following an opener, Bello allowed two runs in 13 1/3 innings (1.35 ERA).

Even if Bello had been good, it likely wouldn’t have mattered given the way the offense performed.

The Red Sox barely avoided being shut out for the fourth time this season, scoring their only run on an RBI double by Nick Sogard with two outs in the top of the ninth. Before that Boston’s best scoring chance came in the fourth when the Red Sox got men at first and second with one out, but other than that the club couldn’t sustain any semblance of a rally until the game was well out of reach.

Braves starter Grant Holmes threw six shutout innings, and the Atlanta bullpen combined to allow one run over three innings.

There was also a 33-minute rain delay during the sixth inning after a brief downpour moved through the Atlanta area, and the Braves finished their scoring with a sacrifice fly by Drake Baldwin in the bottom of the eighth off Ryan Watson.

With the loss the Red Sox are now 19-27 on the season, and at eight games under .500 the club is tied for its low point on the season. The Braves, meanwhile, boast the best record in MLB at 32-15.

Narvaez leaves game

When play resumed following the rain delay in the bottom of the sixth inning, Connor Wong had subbed in for Carlos Narvaez at catcher. Though the move could have been chalked up as a way to give Narvaez some rest late in a blowout, the Red Sox subsequently announced that Narvaez was removed due to right third finger pain.

In addition to Wong, Isiah Kiner-Falefa also subbed into the game at first base for Willson Contreras. That was noteworthy because first base was the last position Kiner-Falefa had never played in an MLB game, so with his late cameo the veteran has now played every position in the majors, including pitcher and catcher.

Stormy weather coming

Monday the Red Sox are scheduled to open a three-game series against the Kansas City Royals, but with severe weather in the forecast anyone planning on heading out to Kauffman Stadium will want to keep a close eye on the sky.

According to the Storm Prediction Center, Kansas City is under an enhanced risk for severe thunderstorms on Monday, which is a Level 3 out of 5 on the SPC’s scale. A large area just to the west is also under a moderate risk (Level 4 out of 5), and conditions will be favorable for the development of supercells capable of producing large hail and tornadoes across the Great Plains.

Weather permitting, first pitch Monday is scheduled for 7:40 p.m. ET. Red Sox right-hander Sonny Gray (4-1, 3.18) is set to face off against Royals righty Seth Lugo (1-3, 3.76).

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