BOSTON (AP) — Adley Rutschman hit a three-run homer off the Pesky Pole in right field, Brayan Bello pitched five scoreless innings in his first start since early June and the Boston Red Sox beat the Los Angeles Angels 5-2 on Monday for their fifth straight victory.
Jarren Duran hit his 20th homer, a solo shot, to spark a four-run second inning for Boston, which improved to an MLB-best 34-17 since the All-Star break and closed to two games behind the Yankees for the AL’s top-wild card spot. New York owns the tiebreaker by winning the season series.
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Los Angeles Angels' Moisés Ballesteros celebrates after his solo home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Brayan Bello, right, is congratulated by catcher Adley Rutschman after his scoreless outing following the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Boston Red Sox's Adley Rutschman, right, is congratulated by Wilyer Abreu after his three-run home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Boston Red Sox's Adley Rutschman, right, is congratulated after his three-run home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Moisés Ballesteros hit a solo homer for the AL West’s last-place Angels, who have lost 12 of 14 games.
Making his first start since giving up a career high-tying eight runs on June 4 before he was sent to Triple-A for nearly a month, Bello (6-7) worked around a high pitch count to keep the Angels to four hits with seven strikeouts.
The 27-year-old Bello, who had a solid run out of the bullpen the past two months, started because interim manager Chad Tracy decided to move back every starter.
Garrett Whitlock, the third reliever, pitched the ninth for his third save.
Duran hit the first pitch from Grayson Rodriguez (4-7) deep into the right-field seats to open the big second inning. Rutschman hooked his down the line, smacking the pole to make it 4-0.
Eli White added an RBI single in the third.
Boston swept a three-game series against the Angels in Anaheim in early July.
Rodriguez allowed three earned runs or fewer in six of his previous seven starts before giving up five over four innings Monday.
LHP Reid Detmers (4-8, 3.44 ERA) is set to start for the Angels against LHP Patrick Sandoval (1-4, 4.41) on Tuesday night in the middle game of the series.
See AP’s full MLB coverage here
Los Angeles Angels' Moisés Ballesteros celebrates after his solo home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Brayan Bello, right, is congratulated by catcher Adley Rutschman after his scoreless outing following the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Boston Red Sox's Adley Rutschman, right, is congratulated by Wilyer Abreu after his three-run home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Boston Red Sox's Adley Rutschman, right, is congratulated after his three-run home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina coach Bill Belichick said Monday he believes his program “totally” has an atmosphere of following rules amid a school investigation into conduct within his football program.
“Obviously everybody’s responsible, including me, for doing things properly,” Belichick said. “And we intend to do that.”
Later Monday, a school spokesman issued a statement backing the 74-year-old Belichick, who won six Super Bowl titles with the NFL's New England Patriots.
“The University continues to support Bill Belichick and the Carolina football program," said Dean Stoyer, UNC's vice chancellor for communications.
The Tar Heels were off following their season-opening win against TCU in Ireland on Aug. 29. But during that open week, general manager Michael Lombardi resigned after being put on paid administrative leave in late July amid an investigation by UNC’s Office of University Counsel.
The same day, WRAL of Raleigh cited anonymous sources in reporting the type of questions asked of some interviewees. Some focused on Belichick's son Steve, the Tar Heels' defensive coordinator currently on medical leave.
Additionally, Lombardi attorney Tom Mars told The Athletic that the school’s probe now included questions into potential “inappropriate” relationships that didn’t involve his client. Mars hasn’t returned a call or email from The Associated Press regarding that comment.
Two people with knowledge of the situation had previously told the AP that a human resources complaint from a former employee was tied to Lombardi originally being placed on leave as the investigation launched. They spoke at the time on condition of anonymity because the school wasn't publicly discussing case details, with UNC saying employees and athletes weren't permitted to discuss the topic “as is standard procedure with personnel matters.”
Those developments have only added to a year’s worth of unwanted headlines off the field to go with shaky play on it under Belichick.
By Monday, reporters spent roughly the first 13 minutes of Belichick's 20-minute game week news conference asking questions that had nothing to do with Saturday's upcoming home debut against East Tennessee State.
That included whether his program had an atmosphere of rule compliance and if Belichick had “control” over the program.
“If you’re around here every day, I think you’d see it,” Belichick said.
Belichick was also asked whether he had spoken to chancellor Lee Roberts and athletic director Steve Newmark about his job security. He responded by looking ahead to the ETSU game, though he later elaborated more on his relationship with school officials when asked whether they had asked him to change anything in running the program.
“They've been very supportive, a great working relationship with those people,” he said. "In the end, look, we want to run the program in the very best way. And if there’s things we need to do to correct it, then we’ll obviously do them.”
The Tar Heels tallied more losses by double-digit margins (five) than wins (four) in Belichick's debut season, along with distractions such as an assistant coach being briefly suspended for violating NCAA rules. Belichick said in July he had hoped lessons learned would lead to more success in Year 2.
The Tar Heels got that with the 15-10 win against TCU after losing to the Horned Frogs by 34 in Belichick's UNC debut. But the past week take some glow off that victory.
“We’re so focused on everything internal and getting better on the field and getting better in the meeting room that we could care less about what we see in the headlines or what's on the news,” running back Benjamin Hall said. “It's not going to affect this team.”
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North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick, right, speaks with an official during an NCAA college football game against TCU in Dublin, Ireland, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
