Bill Buckner would call this one an egregious error.

Jun 8, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Brayan Bello (66) leaves a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox during the fifth inning at Guaranteed Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports / Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

There are errors and then there are “did that really just happen?” errors. Boston Red Sox pitcher Brayan Bello committed the latter on Friday night against the New York Yankees.

Bellow didn’t have the brightest start after giving up a two-run home run to Alex Verdugo in the first inning, but he rallied with three up and three down in the second and third innings. He was about to get out of the fourth inning without more damage too. And then he gifted New York a run.

Giancarlo Stanton scored and Oswaldo Cabrera made it safety to first because Bello muffed a routine catch.

That’s the kind of error you’d expect to see in Little League. To make it in the big leagues against a heated rival is about as embarrassing as it gets. Hell, I’d be mad at myself if I fumbled that catch in a backyard softball game and my hand-eye coordination definitely isn’t up to professional level.

You can’t give free runs to a team like the Yankees who are capable of piling on runs all by themselves. Coming off a series win over the Philadelphia Phillies, that’s the kind of mistake that can halt all positive momentum.

Granted, Bello always needed his lineup to provide some run support and it didn’t exactly come on Friday night. Through five innings, the Red Sox were 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position, stranding seven.

Bello left the game after 4.2 innings, conceding five runs on six hits. He walked three and struck out five. His ERA rose to 5.00 on the season.

Boston came into Friday’s game at 35-34 and 13 games behind the Yankees. But they’re not out of the AL Wild Card race just yet. If they want to have a shot at the postseason, they can’t afford to give up easy scores to anyone.