He scattered six hits and two walks to hold St. Louis to two runs. And he struck out two. Bello\u2019s only blemish most of the way was Jordan Walker\u2019s home run, his majors-leading seventh of the season, in the second inning.<\/p>\n
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Bello teetered in the sixth, when the Cardinals loaded the bases with one out, but limited the damage to one additional run \u2014 and even amid all that traffic needed just 17 pitches in the inning.<\/p>\n
It helped that Willson Contreras\u2019s two-run home run in the first inning provided a lead before he took the mound.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe lead gave him freedom to attack,\u201d manager Alex Cora said. \u201cWe still want him to attack regardless of the score, but it was a good one for him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bello said: \u201cIt helps everybody to relax a little bit more. My mentality was just to get out of innings quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Red Sox are keeping their rotation in line Monday-Wednesday against the Twins, with Crochet, Gray, and Connelly Early taking the mound in that order.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re all pitchers who are capable of going long into games,\u201d Bello said. \u201cMaybe these starts of going long into games will motivate us to keep going even further \u2014 seven, eight innings, maybe even more than that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caleb Durbin isn\u2019t merely an alumnus of Washington University in St. Louis, a Division 3 program about 15 minutes from Busch Stadium.<\/p>\n
He is a bona fide super-fan.<\/p>\n
Five years removed from his Bears days, Durbin didn\u2019t play with anybody on the current team. But in a group chat of about 20 recent former players, he is among the most active members. When WashU is playing, and Durbin isn\u2019t busy with his own baseball, he is locked in on the play-by-play log online (and mildly annoyed that the new streaming platform is tough to use). On Thursday, a Red Sox off day before playing the Cardinals, Durbin visited campus to talk to the current team and head coach Pat Bloom, with whom he is in touch at least monthly.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust because it\u2019s D3 doesn\u2019t take away from the pride and excitement I get from still following the team,\u201d said Durbin, who led WashU to the Division 3 World Series in 2021<\/a>, before the Braves drafted him. \u201cWe didn\u2019t really care what level it was. We just wanted to be the best at that level and put a ton of work in \u2026 We were able to kind of have some cool moments making it to the World Series of my junior year. And we want to get back there.\u201d<\/p>\n We, he says of this team.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re doing really well, and they have their own memories to create,\u201d Durbin said. \u201cJust being there for them and knowing that I can be a resource whenever they need me.\u201d<\/p>\n Does everybody follow their old college this closely?<\/p>\n \u201cNot at all,\u201d said Crochet, a Tennessee alum who worked out at rival Vanderbilt in the offseason.<\/p>\n Durbin completed his degree in economics online in 2022 as he started his journey in professional baseball.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s something that was a priority for me: I did three years here, grinding on the academic side,\u201d he said. \u201cBeing an alum of WashU, I definitely take a lot of pride in the success that they\u2019re having. It\u2019s a lot of fun to follow.\u201d<\/p>\n Roman Anthony (0 for 5) was the DH again. He has started in left field in just two of the past 10 games. Cora\u2019s reasoning: He wanted to stick with what worked Saturday, which included Jarren Duran playing left (and getting two hits). \u201cJust throw him out there, don\u2019t think about your swing,\u201d Cora said. Duran added a double and a walk Sunday. As for Anthony? \u201cI agree with you, he hasn\u2019t had too many opportunities out there,\u201d Cora said. \u201cBut whenever we put him out there, we feel like he\u2019s going to make plays\u201d \u2026 Patrick Sandoval will make his second minor league rehab start Tuesday, Cora said \u2026 New Bedford native Jared Shuster pitched the last three innings for the Cardinals, and would have escaped unscathed if not for Trevor Story\u2019s two-out, two-run double in the ninth. Shuster, 27, made his Cardinals debut with two-thirds of a scoreless inning Saturday.<\/p>\n Tim Healey can be reached at timothy.healey@globe.com<\/a>. Follow him @timbhealey<\/a>.<\/p>\n