Boston's clinch will have to wait after Bello's 11-K gem is spoiled

ST. PETERSBURG -- The Red Sox will have to hold off at least one more day before celebrating a trip to the postseason.

In the big picture, that was a small price to pay on a day Brayan Bello had a brilliant pitching performance, his best of the season.

The only thing Bello was missing was run support. The Rays earned a hard-fought, 2-1 victory in walk-off fashion in the bottom of the ninth on Saturday at Tropicana Field.

Richie Palacios ended it with a bloop single to right against Garrett Whitlock.

Bello was, without question, the story for Boston. The righty was dominant and efficient, firing eight innings and 93 pitches while allowing five hits, walking none and tying his career high with 11 strikeouts. He generated 17 whiffs on 56 swings by the Rays.

“Obviously, a huge bright spot for the day,” Red Sox third baseman Caleb Durbin. “We're gonna need him down the stretch here, and having him go as long as he did with as dominant as he was. So really good stuff out of Bello today.”

It was the continuation of a strong upward trend for Bello, whose rough first two months of the season landed him back in Triple-A for five weeks.

He took it to another level in this one, pitching like the man who was a cornerstone in Boston’s rotation the last three seasons.

How did this version of Bello return?

“I just felt confident attacking the zone and throwing the ball in the zone and trying to get out of the innings as quickly as possible,” said Bello.

In 13 appearances since his return from the Minors on July 12, Bello is 4-1 with a 2.28 ERA, holding opponents to a .220 batting average and .561 OPS over that span. Two of those outings, including the one on Saturday, have been starts.

Bello has mainly pitched in bulk relief the last two months, but has also had some shorter relief stints.

Given his newfound versatility, Bello figures to be an important weapon for the Red Sox in the postseason.

“For me, it's just showing the team that I'm ready for these kind of games,” Bello said. “Also, them giving me the opportunity to pitch today was a good step for that. And I thank them for giving me the confidence and the opportunity to start again.”

While Sonny Gray, Ranger Suarez and Payton Tolle will form the rotation in some order in the Wild Card Series, Bello offers protection should one of those pitchers get knocked out or injured.

Who could forget last season, when Lucas Giolito suffered an elbow injury the day before the postseason that knocked him off the roster? Boston was essentially left with a two-man starting rotation in a Wild Card Series against the Yankees it lost in three games.

Bello’s importance is multi-faceted. If he throws the ball like he did Saturday -- and, for the most part, recently -- the team will find high-leverage spots for him.

“That was exceptional,” said Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy. “By far and away, his best outing of the year, as good as I've seen him, so, I don't know what else to say, he was awesome. Really awesome.”

The Sox and Rays have played a pair of entertaining games this weekend in front of an electric crowd (many of them Boston transplants or visitors), and Sunday’s rubber match should be compelling.

These are the type of games that will have Tracy’s squad better prepared for the bigger games to come.

“That was a hell of a baseball game,” said Tracy. “I don't have really anything negative to say about that game, other than it was really well played on both sides by both teams. Big moments and people rose to the occasion. It was just a heck of a baseball game. And, they were able to beat us.”

The issue for the Red Sox in Saturday’s defeat is that they went 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position while leaving eight on base. When Durbin drilled a one-out double in the ninth, it looked like Boston had something going. But Durbin was caught stealing third right before Jarren Duran smashed a two-out triple into the gap in right-center.

Of course, hindsight is always 20-20 in those situations.

“I thought I had a window, but it wasn't a big enough window,” said Durbin. “You want to be sure about it, so it was obviously on me. So not really any excuse other than I’ve got to be more sure.”

The one sure thing for the Red Sox on Saturday is that they had vintage Bello back in action. And that could mean something going forward.