The Boston Red Sox pushed their record back to .500 after taking two out of three games in their latest series against the New York Yankees. Despite the fact that they only scored seven combined runs over the three contests, it was enough to grind out a pair of wins over the dreaded Yankees, which is always great to see. And in the process, it looks like a star could be emerging in Brayan Bello.

Bello got the ball for Boston in the rubber match of this series, and was sensational for the Sox once again. Bello went seven innings, giving up two runs on three hits and a pair of walks while striking out three. He kept Boston in a game they didn't really have any business being in, and they eventually rallied to pull out a 3-2 victory in ten innings of work.

While this may seem like one rare solid outing from the Sox pitching staff, it's worth noting that Bello has been Boston's most consistent starter on the season so far, and has quietly emerged as the leader of their rotation. And in the process, it's looking like Bello is becoming the ace that the oft-injured Chris Sale no longer can be for this team.

Brayan Bello is becoming the Red Sox ace

A quick look at the Sox starting rotation shows things are still pretty ugly, as only Bello and James Paxton have ERAs that fall under the four run mark. There just simply haven't been any consistent options for this team's pitching staff to this point, but that may be changing with the emergence of Bello for Boston.

When Bello was called up to Boston last season, he struggled out of the gate, and finished with a 4.71 ERA over his first 13 outings in the MLB. Even to start this season, Bello posted a 6.57 ERA in his first three starts, raising questions as to whether or not he would ever pan out for the Sox at the major league level.

Since the start of May, though, Bello has easily been the Red Sox best starter. He's compiled a 2.93 ERA (which is otherworldly for this pitching staff) during that stretch while racking up 35 strikeouts as well. Bello needs to work on his control, as his pitch counts get high very quickly, but he's done a great job at preventing runs from coming around on his watch, which is his primary objective.

It goes without saying that the Sox desperately need someone to step up and be the ace of their pitching staff currently. That guy was supposed to be Sale, who admittedly was enjoying his best stretch of pitching prior to hitting the injured list again. After being transferred to the 60-day injured list, Sale won't be able to return to the field until August at the earliest.

But being available to pitch is the biggest precursor to success in the MLB, and throughout his stint with Boston, that just hasn't been a guarantee for Sale. He proved he still has his wipeout stuff recently, but he just cannot stay healthy. At some point, you have to actually be on the mound to be the ace of this team.

With Sale hitting the injured list, it was fair to wonder whether or not this team was truly doomed. Sale was their best pitcher prior to getting injured, and it didn't really look like anyone was capable of stepping up to fill the void. But Bello had been quietly getting the job done while Sale was still pitching, and he's been thrust into the spotlight now that the lanky left-hander is out for the foreseeable future.

Bello's recent performance is more in line with the expectations he had as a prospect in the Red Sox farm system. Bello was always viewed as a bit raw, but he had the stuff to become a stud in the majors. And well, it looks like we are witnessing his rise from top-tier prospect into a legitimate MLB ace who is leading Boston's rotation.

A strong seven-game stretch doesn't immediately make Bello the greatest pitcher to ever play the game of baseball, but it's clear that he has taken his game to another level as of late. If the Red Sox want to remain in the wild card conversation in the American League this season, Bello is going to have to continue to be the ace of this team. He may hit some more bumps in the road as time goes on, but it looks like we could be watching the rise of the next great Red Sox ace right now.