Benny gets his shot
Provides big day vs. LHP
In order to get better against left-handed pitchers, left-handed hitters need the at-bats.
Andrew Benintendi is thankful he’s getting them. Benintendi smacked his second career homer off a southpaw yesterday, during a 3-for-4, 3-RBI afternoon to help lead the Red Sox over the Atlanta Braves, 8-6, at Fenway Park.
It was a big step forward for the Sox in that the win came against one of the best lefties in the National League in Sean Newcomb, the Braves starter (and Middleboro native) who entered with a 2.39 ERA.
The Red Sox entered the day ranked 28th in the majors with a .662 OPS off southpaws. And the recently dropped Hanley Ramirez was one of the few Sox players who hit them well, with a .333 average and .854 OPS off lefties before he was designated for assignment.
The Sox need their lefty hitters to start producing against lefties, and Benintendi thinks experience will help him get there.
His only home run off a lefty prior to yesterday was when he went deep on a line-drive shot against Jaime Garcia at Yankee Stadium last Aug. 11.
And, oh yeah, he remembers it. “It was a first-pitch fastball,” he said.
Even though Benintendi hit lefties well in the minors, former manager John Farrell made him a platoon player when he was called up to the big leagues late in 2016, and again to start the season in 2017. Midway through last season, Benintendi began getting more at-bats against lefties. This year, he’s been playing against them regularly under manager Alex Cora.
He entered yesterday with the fourth-worst OPS against lefties (.572) of any big leaguer with at least 200 total plate appearances vs. southpaws since 2016.
“I’ve always hit lefties coming up throughout the minors and college and everything,” Benintendi said. “Then in 2016 I platooned and the first month-anda-half in 2017 I did last year, too. I think it’s just getting the at-bats and seeing more pitches and getting comfortable.
“It feels like all the lefties now are throwing in the mid-90s and it’s getting tougher, faster offspeed. I think as I’m starting to see them more and get more comfortable, just starting to go from here.”
Newcomb kept the Sox off the board until the third inning, when the left-handed-hitting Mitch Moreland smoked a triple into the triangle and scored on a single by Xander Bogaerts. Blake Swihart and Christian Vazquez added two-out RBI singles to tie the game, 3-3.
Drew Pomeranz gave the runs right back in the top of the fourth inning, putting the Sox behind, 5-3. Pomeranz departed after recording just 10 outs and has now thrown four innings or fewer in three straight starts.
Newcomb only lasted three innings and the Braves called on another lefty, Jesse Biddle, who led off the fourth by giving up a homer to Benintendi and the Sox cut the lead to 5-4.
“I thought I hit it good, I think I just hit it high and it caught the wind,” Benintendi said.
The Braves turned to their third lefty of the day in the sixth inning, when they summoned Sam Freeman, but he gave up a two-run, lead-changing double to Moreland to make it a 6-5 game.
In the seventh, Benintendi roped a two-run triple off righty Daniel Winkler to bury the Braves and secure a series victory.
Even while the Braves threw three southpaws, it was the Sox’ two lefty bats, Benintendi and Moreland, who had the only multi-hit games for them.
“Mitch can hit righties and lefties,” Benintendi said. “He’s a tough out and he’s going to go out there and he knows the strike zone. Right before he hit that triple, he took a fastball just off the plate and it’s tough to do that, left-on-left guy throwing 95. Then he squared one up. Obviously he plays a good first base, Gold Glove first baseman, and he swung it really well (yesterday).”
Knuckleballer Steven Wright threw three scoreless innings of relief to earn his first win of the season.