After a lifeless Friday night loss in which they were held to two hits, and with the dominant Max Fried on the mound Saturday, the Red Sox badly needed the kind of dominant performance Brayan Bello has turned in against the Yankees throughout his career.

Bello’s first 10 career starts against the Yankees had been historically good; he entered Saturday in possession of a 1.95 ERA against them, the best mark by any major leaguer with a minimum of 10 starts against them since the beginning of the Live Ball Era in 1921. In three starts against the Yankees since Sept. 14 of last year, Bello had yielded just one earned run. His two starts against them this season were scoreless seven-inning gems.

Five batters into Saturday’s game, the Yankees already had more success against Bello than any of

See Full Page