NEW YORK – In two of his three regular season starts against the Yankees, Brayan Bello gave the Red Sox seven shutout innings.

In Game 2 of the Wild Card series on Wednesday night, seven was a decidedly less magical number; it was how many pitchers Alex Cora used in the 4-3 loss.

Bello was one out into the third inning when he saw Cora striding determinedly to the mound. The Red Sox right-hander had faced 11 men and thrown 28 pitches, 17 for strikes. The Yankees tagged him for two earned runs, in the form of a two-run homer by Cohasset, Ma. native Ben Rice. Bello walked one and struck out none.

His manager said “nothing,” a sullen Bello relayed via team translator. “I just gave him the ball.”

Bello appeared blindsided. Postgame, he and Cora separately confirmed there had been no discus

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