BOSTON — Instant reactions as Brayan Bello dominates the Rockies with a complete game, Boston’s bats break out late and the Red Sox (48-45) get their fifth straight win in a 10-2 rout:
1) Bello was phenomenal — and nearly historically so. He flirted with a no-hitter — well, kinda – because the first hit he gave up was on a scoring decision that could have gone either way.
With one out in the top of the fourth, Hunter Goodman laced a 97 mph rope toward third baseman Nate Eaton, who was well behind the bag. Eaton couldn’t field the ball cleanly and Goodman reached first. The official scorer ruled it a single, ending Bello’s no-hit bid early. You can bet that scorer breathed a sigh of relief when Brenton Doyle laced a single into left field in the eighth.
Bello was looking to finish off Boston’s second complete game shutout in the last three seasons but Goodman took him deep with a two-run shot in the ninth. Still, the line was one of true dominance. Bello allowed just four hits, walked one batter and struck out a season-high 10 batters in a complete game. The righty needed 107 pitches to record all 27 outs.
Technically, it was the second complete game of Brayan Bello’s career. The other? A six-inning performance in a shortened game in September 2022. The outing was the longest of Bello’s career, obviously, beating out an eight-inning start last August against Toronto.
2) Bello was locked in from the start. His first 10 pitches were strikes and he struck out seven in a perfect first turn through the Rockies order. The only blemishes in his line came thanks to that Goodman single and a walk to Brenton Doyle in the fifth. It was a night of there little stirring in Boston’s bullpen.
Garrett Crochet’s consistency and Lucas Giolito’s strong month-long run have somewhat overshadowed a really impressive turnaround from Bello, who has now gone at least six innings in six straight starts (not counting last week’s five-inning relief appearance in the completion of the suspended game).
3) Playing his first series ever against his former team, Trevor Story experienced it all in three consecutive at-bats. In the fourth inning, with two men on and one out, Story hit a 105 mph rope up the middle, but shortstop Ryan Ritter snagged the liner, then tossed to second base to double off Romy Gonzalez and end the inning. In Story’s next at-bat, he flicked a Kyle Freeland pitch into right field (with an exit velocity of 71 mph) and plated the game’s first run when it fell in.
Story then left no doubt about the outcome in his seventh-inning plate appearance against reliever Jake Bird, smoking a first-pitch slider into the Monster seats to make it 9-0. It was Story’s 15th homer of the year.
4) If you had Jarren Duran penciled in as the Red Sox hitter to have the longest Fenway home run of 2025 in mid-July, you win. Duran demolished a hanging Zach Agnos splitter in the bottom of the seventh, launching it 456 feet into the right field bleachers. It left the bat at 109.3 mph.
Duran’s homer was two feet longer than the blast Romy Gonzalez hit (454 feet) Monday night. It was the longest of Duran’s career.
5) The Red Sox, after a strong start to July, find themselves three games over .500 for just the third time all year. They were 14-11 after a win over the Mariners on April 22, 17-14 after winning in Toronto on April 29 and 40-37 after beating the Giants on June 20.
Boston has never been four games over the .500 mark this season. They’ll get a fourth crack at it Wednesday night. In five games against the Nationals and Rockies, the Red Sox have outscored their poor opponents 46-14.
6) The “Summer of Ceddanne” continued as Ceddanne Rafaela, moved up to sixth in the lineup for the night, came up clutch again with a two-run double in the sixth. The veteran Freeland held the Red Sox scoreless through the first five innings, dueling with Bello, before the hit parade got him in the sixth. Story’s single, Rafaela’s double and a Jarren Duran RBI single all plated runs. The Sox then scored six times against Rockies relievers in the seventh.
7) As the Red Sox go for the sweep (and their sixth straight win) Wednesday, they’ll look for righty Lucas Giolito (5-1, 3.66 ERA) to continue his strong run of recent success. The Rockies will start right-hander Antonio Senzatela (3-12, 6.57 ERA). First pitch is at 7:10 p.m. ET.
The Red Sox are expected to welcome Masataka Yoshida back to their lineup.
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