Benintendi in elite company vs. Bombers
David Ortiz retired, but the Red Sox may have found a new weapon with which to torment their AL East rivals.
Rookie outfielder Andrew Benintendi continued to make himself at home at the Stadium on Friday night, blasting his fifth home run in The Bronx this year to help the Red Sox even the bestof-four series at one with a 4-1 victory. Ortiz never accomplished that feat, which was matched by just Jim Rice in 1983.
“I think the field kind of plays to my swing,” Benintendi said after Boston increased its AL East lead to 5 ¹/2 games over the Yankees with two regular season games remaining between the two teams. “I feel like you see the ball well here, the lighting is good, the backdrop’s good. They have a lot of pitchers who throw hard and are really tough. I guess it makes you that much more locked in.”
In eight games in The Bronx this year, he’s hitting .393 (11for-28), with five home runs and 12 RBIs, and he has gone deep four times this month there. All of them seem to be significant.
Friday’s long ball gave the Red Sox a much-needed cushion, extending a one-run lead to two in the fifth inning. The rookie crushed a 92-mph Sonny Gray fastball into the bleachers in right field, nearly landing in the Judge’s Chambers. Remember, he went deep twice and drove in a career-high six runs Aug. 12, a big bounce-back victory for Boston, which started its improved play against the Yankees. The day before, the Red Sox blew a three-run, eighth-inning lead, but Benintendi led a Boston rout the following day, and the next night, he drove in the gamewinning run in the 10th inning, as the AL East leaders took the three-game series victory and now have taken five of the past seven against the Yankees. “Right field. The difference between here and Fenway [Park], it’s a joke honestly,” Benintendi said. “A popup to right, it’s a home run.” And, yet, he hasn’t gotten big, looking to go deep. He’s remaining patient and taking advantage of his opportunities. “The beauty of ‘Benny’ in his first full season, I think he’s got a true understanding of the pitches he’s trying to look for in a given at bat,” Red Sox manager John Farrell said. “You look at the beautiful swing he’s got, just a heckuva hitter.” When asked if he feels like a Yankees killer yet, Benintendi smiled, shook his head and played down his success against them. “I think you need to earn that throughout the years. It’s just my first year,” he said. “I’d like to be.”