Red Sox Reveal Pitching Plan To Resume Suspended Game
The Boston Red Sox will resume a suspended game against the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday afternoon. They played three innings before inclement weather halted Tuesday night’s matchup at Fenway Park.
An atypical situation creates a puzzle for Red Sox manager Alex Cora to solve. They’ll continue the game with a new pitcher — Richard Fitts threw 38 pitches on Tuesday — before navigating the regularly scheduled contest later that evening.
Brayan Bello was initially slated to start Wednesday night. However, he’ll instead pitch when the suspended game resumes, per MLB.com’s Ian Browne.
The Red Sox have yet to announce a starter for the next game, which begins at 7:10 p.m. ET. They can call up a 27th player for that matchup, but MassLive’s Christopher Smith said it won’t be Kyle Harrison making his team debut.
On the other hand, the Reds will keep Nick Martinez on track to start Wednesday night’s game. He took a no-hitter in the ninth inning of his last appearance.
Cincinnati hasn’t announced who will resume Wednesday’s game, so it appears Terry Francona will turn to his bullpen.
Bello will technically make his first relief appearance since his 2022 rookie campaign. The 26-year-old has worked at least six innings in his last five starts, so he could pitch the rest of the suspended game.
That would give Cora a fully rested bullpen for the evening game ahead of an off day, so the Red Sox may not need their 27th man to make a traditional start.
Boston led 2-1 through three innings before heavy rain, thunder and lightning stopped Tuesday’s game. Roman Anthony extended his hitting streak to six games with an RBI double in the first, and Carlos Narváez drove the rookie home on a single.
Mother Nature cost Fitts a chance at earning his first career win. Although he wouldn’t receive credit for his fourth straight quality start, Bello will look to limit the opposition to three runs or fewer for the 12th time this season.
The game will resume play on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. ET.