BOSTON -- As far as 24th birthday celebrations go, there are few better ways to do it than earning a victory for the Red Sox at Fenway Park.

Brayan Bello took some twists and turns getting there, reaching career-highs in walks (five) and pitches (107) over five innings on a night the Red Sox mashed the Mariners, 12-3, in the rubber match of a three-game series. 

On the flip side, Bello (three hits, one earned run) also had a personal best in whiffs with 19 and equaled his career-high with seven strikeouts while riding a generous dose of offense from his teammates.

“Of course, I was super happy, very happy to be able to have my birthday and a win, so it was a very nice day,” Bello said.

The day was not as nice for Red Sox veteran Nick Pivetta, as the club announced after the game that the righty is going to the bullpen. Boston had been going with a six-man rotation since James Paxton returned on May 12, but that wasn’t sustainable with three off-days coming up in the next 12 days.

Since joining the Red Sox late in the 2020 season, Pivetta has been a starter in 73 of his 74 regular-season appearances. The one relief outing was memorable, as Pivetta was dominant at Washington in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game No. 162 of the 2021 season, punching a ticket to the playoffs for the Red Sox. He also had a brilliant outing in relief in Game 3 of that year’s Division Series, firing four scoreless innings against the Rays in a 13-inning victory for Boston.

Pivetta went in a slump midway through last season and hasn’t really come out of it, going 5-9 with a 5.88 ERA in his past 24 starts.

“I’m going to focus on helping the team achieve our goals,” Pivetta said. “I’m gonna go out there and do my job and throw up zeros and help this team win. I just don't think I make this about me. I’ve just got to go out and focus. I’ve got to pitch better and I’ve got to go and start and do that right there. The better I do out of the bullpen, the more I can help the team win and move us towards our overall goal of winning the World Series. I think that's what's most important.”

While Pivetta will try to work his way out of a prolonged rut in his new role, Bello will try to keep a good thing going. 

Boston’s promising righty has a powerful arsenal, one that allows him to minimize the damage on nights like Wednesday, when he doesn’t have his best command.

Bello acknowledged that an unseasonably chilly and windy night at Fenway contributed to his control issues.

“Yeah, it was a tricky situation today,” Bello said. “I was battling every inning to get a feel for my pitches, the hands were getting cold very quickly, so it was a good battle with the conditions today.”

But the conditions helped in one situation. With two on and two outs in the top of the second, Taylor Trammell crushed one to deep right that seemed like a sure three-run homer, only to have the wind knock it down. Right fielder Alex Verdugo took an almost comical route as the wind kept shifting the baseball, but he hauled it in just in front of the wall for the final out of the inning.

“When the ball all came off the bat, I thought it was a home run,” Bello said. “I think the wind brought it in and gave Alex a chance to catch the ball, but I got a little bit scared with that ball.”

Bello’s birthday win continued a recent upward trend which has seen him give up two earned runs or less in the four starts since he returned from Triple-A. 

“We really like his upside,” Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said. “Tonight he showed it. He showed the upside, and he also showed some of the growing pains as well. That’s part of being a young starting pitcher is working your way through that.”