Flying high: Bennett's gem helps hand Sox 5th straight win

CHICAGO – Even as the right side of their infield became a MASH unit in real time, the Red Sox stayed hot on Wednesday night, extending their winning streak to five games with a 5-0 victory over the White Sox at Rate Field.

No Willson Contreras (left foot contusion) or Anthony Seigler (left trap contusion) for the final six innings?

No problem for a Boston team that is on a 10-2 surge with four games left before the All-Star break. At 42-48, the Red Sox are suddenly just three games back of the final spot in the AL Wild Card standings.

“The vibe is great,” said winning pitcher Jake Bennett. “Guys are playing extremely well and we’re just pumped to be doing well.”

Here is what mattered most on Wednesday.

Bennett again marvelous

When Brayan Bello was optioned to the Minor Leagues on June 5, there was no telling how Bennett, a rookie call-up, would do as his replacement in the rotation. To say Bennett has filled in nicely would be a serious understatement.

The lefty was again marvelous on Wednesday, firing seven scoreless innings in which he allowed four hits while walking one and striking out four. Bennett was strikingly efficient, needing just 81 pitches to mow through the White Sox. In his last five starts, the 25-year-old is 3-1 with a 1.39 ERA.

“Same as what he usually does,” shrugged Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy. “He just went out there and, ho hum, just pounded the strike zone. He’s just really good. He was working ahead in the count, got strike one, was ahead in the count, stayed ahead in the count, off-speed for swing and miss. It was just a really, really, really good outing.”

With each start -- and this one was his last before the All-Star break -- Bennett is gaining more confidence.

“It's been great,” Bennett said. “It's a huge confidence boost seeing how my stuff plays at this level. I keep trying to build off it.”

Contreras out … but for how long?

It had been a good week for Contreras, who was added to the All-Star team on Tuesday and accepted an invitation to the T-Mobile Home Run Derby on Wednesday. But some of his luck ran out when Contreras hammered a foul ball hard off the top of his left foot in the top of the third inning. In obvious pain, Contreras completed his at-bat and actually struck a flyout to deep center. But when he came out for defense, Contreras was limping and exited one batter into the inning.

With a day game looming on Thursday, it would seem iffy at best Contreras would be able to play. An added element is that a ruling from MLB is pending on the seven-game suspension Contreras received for his role in a bench-clearing fracas with the Nationals on June 30.

“I hit a bone in my foot, and it went numb for a little bit, and then the feeling came back,” said Contreras. “It was painful. I took my time to get back on the field just to give it some extra seconds to feel better. But on the first ground ball, the pain was worse. When I'm in pain, that's the only way I'm coming off the field, and it's something that I thought should be taken care of right away and not letting it extend.”

Seigler had a nasty collision with White Sox catcher Kyle Teel while scoring on a wild pitch just one pitch after Contreras fouled the ball off his foot. Seigler has stepped up while serving as Boston’s primary second baseman in recent weeks.

“I was concerned [initially] because he kind of rolled over and was just kind of laying there,” said Tracy. “And then when you get there and bend down, you kind of say, ‘What's going on?' He’s like, ‘My neck,’ so that was a little concerning. Once he was able to move around and stuff it was like, ‘OK, we’ll be all right,’ he just felt a stinger in his neck, so it’s sore, but we'll see how he is [Thursday].”

Spark from bottom of order

The Red Sox have become a thriving offense during their recent hot streak. In Wednesday’s win, they got key contributions from the last two spots in the batting order. No. 8 hitter Carlos Narváez had a sacrifice bunt that led to the first run of a three-run rally in the third inning and added an RBI single in the fourth. No. 9 hitter Tsung-Che Chang had run-scoring singles in the third and fourth.

Narváez has slumped at the plate for most of the season, and that played into his decision to bunt on his own and get the speedy Jarren Duran into scoring position.

“I was trying to get things going,” said Narváez. “JD is a guy who flies. It was early in the game, we’re facing a good pitcher, the score is 0-0, that's a perfect time for it. It's no secret I'm not having too much success with my bat, so let’s find a way to help the team.”

Perhaps the baseball gods rewarded the catcher with the RBI single in his next at-bat.

“Exactly. You’ve got to play for your team,” said Narváez. “You’ve got to serve your team. When you play like that, it doesn't matter how your season is going.”