Brayan Bello was only six outs away from pitching the 19th no-hitter in Boston Red Sox history.
The second-year right-hander put on a show in front of the Fenway Faithful during Thursday night's game vs. the Miami Marlins. He cruised into the eighth inning with zero hits allowed, only one walk, and five strikeouts.
It was a dominant performance from the former top prospect, who appears to be the future ace of the Red Sox pitching staff. But in the eighth, Jean Segura finally tallied Miami's first hit with a single up the middle. Kiké Hernández made a nice diving stop but had no chance of throwing Segura out at first.
Bello let up a single to Joey Wendle in the next at-bat and was removed from the game. The 24-year-old received a standing ovation from the Fenway crowd before being replaced by veteran righty Chris Martin, who allowed a Jon Berti RBI single. Bello was charged with the earned run, but the Red Sox got out of the inning without any further damage.
Unfortunately, the Marlins put another run across in the ninth inning and the Red Sox failed to get on the board, resulting in a 2-0 Miami victory and Boston's fifth consecutive defeat. Bello took the loss despite his stellar outing.
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The Red Sox offense had no answer for Marlins starter Jesus Luzardo. The 25-year-old left-hander allowed only three hits and didn't let up a run while striking out nine Sox batters in 6 1/3 innings.
Jon Lester is the last Red Sox pitcher to throw a no-hitter. He accomplished the feat against the Kansas City Royals on May 19, 2008.
