BOSTON — In a shuffling of lefty relief pitchers, the Red Sox have swapped out Jovani Moran and recalled Brennan Bernardino.
“We used Moran (Monday) for two innings and we need another fresh arm,” explained Alex Cora. “Bernie did a good job when he was here early on. It just happened that we had to send him down, the same situation (we have with Moran) and now he’s back.”
Bernardino had been optioned to Worcester on Aug. 1 as the Red Sox juggled their roster to accommodate two pitchers obtained at the trade deadline. He appeared in just four games with Worcester in the last two and a half weeks.
Bernardino enjoyed a strong April and May with the Red Sox, but some heavy usage caught up with him in June and July. From June 6 through the All-Star break, Bernardino posted a 6.60 ERA over 14 games.
He began to turn things around in July with seven straight scoreless appearances before being sent down to the minors.
“It was tough being away, but I’m happy to be back,” said Bernardino Tuesday afternoon. “I got some work in down there (with the coaching staff) and worked on some stuff that I was working on here.”
“I feel really good. I got to work on breaking ball, got to work on my fastball, try to work on location. When you go down there, you get a chance to take a breath and work on things. I tried to make the most of it and not let a day pass where I wasn’t trying to get better.”
A particular emphasis was placed on his curveball, which Bernardino believes is back to the shape it had during the 2023 season, his best with the Sox.
Bernardino is one of four lefties in the Red Sox bullpen, joining Justin Wilson, Steven Matz and Aroldis Chapman.
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