Pitching plans unravel for Sox in finale

HOUSTON -- Red Sox manager Alex Cora knew it would be hard to get out of Minute Maid Park with a sweep of the impressive Astros, but he had one pitching plan that could help his team pull off the trick.

Rich Hill, the 42-year-old lefty making his first start since July 1, would go roughly five innings. After that, Brayan Bello, the 23-year-old righty and Boston’s No. 3 prospect per MLB Pipeline, would go anywhere from two to four innings.

Cora could rest his tired bullpen, and the Red Sox would take a happy flight to Kansas City.

Well, it didn’t work. Not much did for Boston in a 6-1 loss to the Astros on Wednesday afternoon on getaway day.

Hill, who made one Minor League rehab start of three innings before returning, looked rusty while giving up four runs on six hits in three innings, rather than the intended five.

Originally, Bello was going to start, but Cora, knowing his bullpen was in tattered shape, called Hill after Tuesday’s game and asked him if he could.

“I hate to use excuses,” said Hill. “I didn’t throw the ball well. I think that’s what it is at the end of the day, and that’s what’s frustrating. You go out there to pitch and compete, and we can come up with a number of things that could have gone right or could have gone wrong or whatever. At the end of the day, it’s about results, and it’s frustrating from my perspective to go out there and not give us the innings we need.”

The ultimate competitor and team player, it hurt Hill not to be able to answer the bell in better fashion.

“We’re in a little bit of a tough spot in the bullpen with guys being used the last five days or so,” said Hill. “Understanding that, that’s where the frustration comes in, not being able to supply more support for the staff. That’s something that, as a starting pitcher, eats at you for the next four days until you get the next turn.”

If things had gone as Bello had planned, Hill might have taken his subpar performance better.

But the righty faced four batters before exiting with a left groin strain. It’s unclear when he will pitch again. Given his status as the top-rated pitching prospect in the organization, you can expect the Red Sox to exercise caution.

“He got treatment after the game, and we’ll know a little bit more [Thursday],” said Cora. “But obviously, he’s very important. He felt like, ‘Give me one more pitch.’ I was like ‘Well, if I let you throw and you get really hurt, I’ll be going to Caguas. So yeah, you’re out of the game.’”

It was hard to know exactly when Bello's injury took place.

“I saw it actually right before that at-bat. He was stretching out, then he threw two pitches and didn’t do too much and that one he stepped back.” said Cora.

Christian Vázquez, a member of the Red Sox just two days earlier and now with the Astros, was still in the habit of serving as eyes and ears for Cora.

“There was a catcher on the other side paying a lot of attention, pointing [about the injury],” Cora said, “I was like, ‘Yeah I got it.’ Hopefully, it’s nothing serious. Something that is X amount of days and he can be OK.”

Bello was disappointed because he had hoped to build momentum off his best outing so far last time out against the Brewers (two runs allowed in 4 1/3 innings).

“Yeah, I felt it a little bit on my last pitch to Vázquez,” said Bello. “The following pitches, I started to feel it a little bit more and more. I decided to stop.”

Now, the question is this: When will Bello be able to start back up?

“I hope it’s not that long. Honestly, I don’t know how long it’s going to be,” said Bello.

As for the Red Sox (53-53), they got out of Houston in decent shape, pulling off a series win for the first time since June 24-26 in Cleveland. Boston is three games back in the American League Wild Card standings.

Now, it’s on to Kansas City for a four-game series in which Eric Hosmer will debut for his new team while returning to face his original team for the first time since 2017.