The Boston Red Sox improved to a 10-10 record with a 1-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday. While the series-winning game helped the Red Sox return to .500, Tampa Bay still outscored Boston by 11 runs in the three-game series due to a lopsided 16-1 win by the Rays on Monday.
That scoring discrepancy essentially captures Boston’s struggles through the early portion of the season. There was some optimism surrounding the Red Sox pitching rotation entering the season, but a combination of injuries and ineffectiveness have hampered the team. The Red Sox began the campaign without Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford, Lucas Giolito and Liam Hendriks due to various ailments.
With the injuries continuing to mount, Boston has been hopeful that the return of Bello, Crawford and Giolito would help bolster the rotation. While Crawford may still need some time before making his 2025 debut due to patellar tendinopathy in his right knee, Bello and Giolito have both been inching closer to rejoining the club.
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Brayan Bello’s inconsistent rehab start isn’t promising for struggling Red Sox rotation
Bello could rejoin the rotation as early as Tuesday against the Seattle Mariners at Fenway Park, but his rehabilitation starts have been far from perfect. The 25-year-old right-hander made his fourth minor league start for Double-A Portland at Hartford on Wednesday night and allowed four runs on six hits in 4⅓ innings, including a three-run home run in the first inning, per NESN. He also had one walk and seven strikeouts, ultimately finishing with 51 strikes on 71 pitches.
Bello was the Opening Day starter in 2024 and finished 14-8 with a 4.49 earned run average over 30 starts, but he has been on the injured list all season due to shoulder inflammation.
Along with Richard Fitts and Sean Newcomb filling in the No. 4 and No. 5 spots, Boston has anchored their rotation with Garrett Crochet, Tanner Houck and Walker Buehler. While Fitts impressed early in the season, he suffered a mild pectoral strain during the sixth inning of a 3-1 win over the Chicago White Sox on Sunday.
Ace Garrett Crochet is now the only Boston starter who has logged multiple outings of six innings or more this season, but the rest of the rotation has been unavailable or unreliable. Houck, in particular, has struggled mightily, highlighted by his outing against the Rays on Monday. In one of the worst starts in franchise history, Houck allowed 12 runs on 10 hits, two walks and had just one strikeout against 20 batters in just 2⅓ innings. By the third inning, Boston was already facing a 14-1 deficit. No Red Sox pitcher had allowed as many as 11 earned runs in as few as 2⅓ innings since 1901, per The Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham.