Brayan Bello, Red Sox aim to subdue Dodgers

Boston Red Sox right-hander Brayan Bello will look to build off an impressive first half when he takes the mound Saturday against the host Los Angeles Dodgers.

Bello (10-5, 5.32 ERA) was one of just five American League pitchers with double-digit wins before the break and enters after winning all three of his previous July starts. He gave up three runs over 6 1/3 innings in a 5-4 win over the Kansas City Royals last Sunday, one start after he had a season-best 11 strikeouts against the Oakland Athletics.

While Bello's strikeouts per nine innings are up this season at 8.5, he continues to lag compared to last season's numbers in ERA, WHIP (1.472) and hits per nine innings (9.9).

Bello will face the Dodgers for the first time in his career, getting a crack at an offense that struggled entering the break.

Boston right-hander Nick Pivetta kept Los Angeles off balance again Friday by allowing two hits over six scoreless innings. But Los Angeles came to life in the eighth inning as Freddie Freeman hit a grand slam against left-hander Brennan Bernardino in a 4-1 victory.

Freeman's blast prevented Red Sox right-hander Kenley Jansen from pitching in the late innings against his former team. The loss also came after Boston won 10 of 13 games before the break.

"We're all grinding for each other," Jansen said, according to the Boston Globe, while recording 19 saves in 32 appearances this season. "We're all family, and I consider these guys my family right now because I'm seeing them more than my family, and we've got to be united and be together."

The lone Boston run Friday came on a solo shot from Jarren Duran, who went deep three days after his go-ahead homer earned him the MVP of the All-Star Game in the American League's 5-3 victory. But the Red Sox went 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position, including 0-for-8 in those situations over the first four innings.

The Dodgers will counter with rookie left-hander Justin Wrobleski (0-1, 6.30), who will be making his third career start in an injury-depleted rotation.

In a start last week against the Detroit Tigers, Wrobleski gave up four runs (three earned) over five innings of a no-decision. He was in line for his first career win until the bullpen collapsed and gave up five runs in the ninth inning. The Tigers won the game an inning later.

On Friday, it was Los Angeles' turn to deliver some heartbreak. The Dodgers' eighth-inning rally started when Miguel Vargas walked. Shohei Ohtani doubled before Will Smith was intentionally walked to load the bases with one out. Freeman made Boston pay for the decision.

"I was excited," Freeman said on the SportsNet LA broadcast when asked about being given a chance with the bases loaded in the eighth. "You kind of live for those situations. You want to be up in those situations. I was trying to hit a fly ball and I ended up hitting a fly ball over the fence."

It was a much-needed clutch blast for the Dodgers, who lost six of seven games before the break, including consecutive defeats by walk-off fashion against the Tigers to close out the first half.

--Field Level Media