Braves left-hander Chris Sale allowed a pair of runs over five innings to earn a win over the Red Sox on Thursday. He’s defeated Boston in all three starts since getting traded before the 2024 season. Sale has a 1.50 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 18 innings against his former club.
1. Jones makes his return
Pirates right-hander Jared Jones is expected to make his season debut on Friday against the Twins. The hard-throwing righty is making his way back from UCL surgery. He missed the entire 2025 season. Jones pitched well as a rookie in 2024, delivering a sub-4.00 SIERA with more than a strikeout per inning across 22 starts. The recent top prospect was forming a strong 1-2 punch with Paul Skenes before going down with the elbow issue. Jones has excelled in five rehab starts, racking up 24 strikeouts over 18 2/3 innings with a 2.89 ERA. He’ll likely replace Carmen Mlodzinski in the rotation.
2. Martinez chasing ERA crown
Rays right-hander Nick Martinez faces the Angels tonight with a chance to move into the top spot on the ERA leaderboard. He’s been stuck behind Cam Schlittler, who tossed six innings of one-run ball last time out to keep his mark at 1.50. Martinez quieted Schlitter’s Yankees in his last outing, working around nine hits to post a quality start. He has an ERA of 1.51 through 10 appearances. Phillies left-hander Cristopher Sanchez overtook both Martinez and Schlittler on Wednesday with yet another scoreless start. A 4.25 xERA and a 4.49 SIERA suggest Martinez’s run won’t last, though he draws an Angels offense that ranks 28th in wRC+ against righties in May.
3. Bello behind an opener
Red Sox right-hander Brayan Bello will operate as a bulk reliever on Friday. Lefty Tyler Samaniego will draw the start and cover an inning or two. It’ll be Bello’s fourth appearance out of the bullpen. His results have been wildly different as a traditional starter compared to a bulk reliever this year. The righty has a 9.68 ERA in 30 2/3 innings as a starter. Coming out of the bullpen, he’s put up a 0.98 ERA over 18 1/3 frames. With Samaniego on the mound in the first inning, Bello will duck lefties Travis Bazzana and Chase DeLauter the first time through the order. He’ll also avoid switch-hitter Jose Ramirez.
Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images
They call him Mello Bello, quite right.
🎶👍
Brayan Bello’s safari planet
rh, are you south of Keene? Home of two great trails and a nice coop? Love to stop while on the way to central NH.
This is what Bello sings on the mound:
“Bay-O, Baaay-O”
“Tracy come, and me wanna go home.”
Schlittler is such an interesting name. Clearly it derives from the Outhouse region of northwest Germany, but scholars are mystified by much of everything else regarding origin.
Hopefully someone carved a quarter moon into his locker door.
His mystery is success with 90% fastballs.
Starting pitchers fear Bazzana
It’s amazing the role that psychology plays in baseball. Bello is fantastic in one scenario, but struggles mightily in another. Who can explain it?
That’s easy to explain: It’s psychology!
Why wouldn’t Jones replace Bubba Chandler…he is markedly worse than Mlodzinski.
I think Mlodzinksi is more valuable as a spot starter and long reliever than he is as a starter overall. Chandler has all the talent and pitches to become an ace and needs those innings. Sending him to the pen or demoting him wouldn’t help the pirates in the future.
They play in arguably the most competitive division and they’re about 2-3 bats away and another bullpen shutdown RP from really competing. They have Florentino and Seth Hernandez coming up at the end of the year. Next year is when they push, and they need Bubba ready to give them quality starts.
Gary: maybe Yogi had the answer…”Baseball is ninety percent mental. The other half is physical.”
Yogi wouldn’t swing at Elroy Face’s offering:
When you come to a fork ball, take it.
And he said , when you come to a fork in the road , take it…🤔
I like that version!
“You can lead a horse to water, but a pencil must be lead “…..Stan Laurel..