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BOSTON — The Boston Red Sox bullpen posted a 1.08 ERA (58 ⅓ innings, seven earned runs) and nine saves during Boston’s 15-game winning streak.
Boston relievers have the major league’s best reliever ERA (3.07) this season.
In July, the group has allowed just 18 runs in 86 innings for a 1.88 ERA.
The Red Sox have an All-Star closer in Aroldis Chapman and a top-five setup man in Garrett Whitlock.
They found a beast in minor league free agent signee Tyron Guerrero, who has come out of nowhere at 35 years old to record a 2.25 ERA and average 100 mph with his fastball in 23 outings.
- BETTING: For Monday’s contest between the Red Sox and the A’s, the over/under is set at 9.5 total runs on DraftKings. Our comprehensive DraftKings Sportsbook review will show you how to navigate through their app.
The Sox also have someone nobody is talking about in left-hander Jovani Morán.
The 29-year-old Puerto Rican has a 2.76 ERA and 0.97 WHIP while holding opponents to a .152 batting average in 28 outings (42 ⅓ innings).
His peripheral numbers are also impressive. Morán is in the 97th percentile in expected batting average (.183), the 96th percentile in hard-hit percentage (29.7%), the 93rd percentile in whiff percentage (32.9%) and the 91st percentile in expected ERA (2.84). He also has seven shutdowns compared to one meltdown.
He fought for an Opening Day roster spot in spring training because he was out of minor league options.
“That was my goal in the offseason — prepare myself, prepare my body and be the most ready that I can in spring training to show the team that I was able to be in the big leagues," he said.
What makes his success in a Red Sox uniform even more special is his dad’s love for the team.
His father is a lifelong Red Sox fan who always wore Boston clothes and hats. He retired them to the closet when the Twins drafted Morán in the seventh round in 2015 out of the Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy in Puerto Rico, but was able to un-retire them when Boston acquired Morán from the Twins on Christmas Eve 2024.
His parents, who live in Puerto Rico, watch every game.
“They don’t watch it live. They watch it the next day,” Morán said.
Morán’s dad — who pitched as a kid — has traveled to Fenway Park and New York Mets’ Citi Field this season to see his son.
“It is cool,” Morán said. “His dream was to see me pitch in the big leagues and pitching on his team, the Red Sox. He’s been always a fan with the Red Sox. I know he’s proud and happy.”
Morán’s changeup is a big reason behind his success. He’s thrown it 36.3% of the time, holding opponents to a .196 batting average and .173 expected batting average against it. Even more impressive, he has a 49.5% whiff percentage when he throws the pitch.
“There are better changeups movement-wise but I feel like I sell it like the fastball and the arm action is the same as the fastball,” Morán said. “And I feel like that’s why it’s been good.”
His four-seam fastball is the only pitch he throws (slightly) more often (37.6%) than his changeup, holding opponents to a .111 batting average with it.
Morán said it’s important for him to establish his fastball.
“I feel like if I get the fastball in the strike zone, that’s gonna help me help the other pitches to be effective,” he said.
With the Twins, Morán almost exclusively threw a fastball and changeup. He mixed in a breaking ball on rare occasions.
He has added a cutter and sinker with the Red Sox, giving him a four-pitch mix to attack hitters.
“I feel like it’s harder for the hitter to know what pitch is coming,” he said.
“The cutter, I started throwing it last year because my four-seam fastball cuts a little bit,” Morán added. “So it wasn’t that hard to find and throw the cutter. And then the sinker, we just started using it to play catch this year. I think like a month and a half ago, maybe like two months ago. We started throwing it playing catch and it started moving well. So I just start throwing it in the game.”
Morán returned in 2025 after missing the 2024 season while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. He spent most of the 2025 season with Triple-A Worcester, posting a 3.58 ERA in 27 ⅔ innings over 20 relief appearances. He appeared in two games for Boston, allowing three runs in four innings.
He knew he needed to improve against left-handed batters to stick in the majors. In the minors last year, lefties batted .295 against him while he held righties to a .250 batting average.
This year, lefties are just 8 for 63 (.127) against him while righties have gone 14 for 82 (.171).
“I felt like the sinker has been working against lefties and I’ve been able to get out against lefties,” he said. “Because I remember with the Twins, I pitched better against the righties than the lefties. ... Being able to attack the lefties same as the righties and trust in that cutter away and the changeup, the lefty-lefty changeup.”
His walk percentage is high (11.3%) but he has a 28.0% strikeout percentage, ranking in the 84th percentile.
“I feel like I just concentrate on things that I can control, like throw the pitches in the strike zone, be ahead of the count and then try to look for chase and throw my changeup down in a way or fastball top rail,” he said.
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