BOSTON -- Jake Bennett (Boston's No. 6 prospect) earned his first big league start by filling a need for the Red Sox.
Already down Garrett Crochet and Sonny Gray among the injuries within its rotation, Boston promoted the left-hander to start Friday’s series opener against the Astros at Fenway Park. In a rare 3-1 win not by way of a walk-off in their Fenway green uniforms, the Red Sox got the job done on a day of debuts.
The start marked the introduction for the pitcher the Red Sox acquired this past offseason from the Nationals in exchange for right-hander Luis Perales. It also marked a reunion with Bennett's Triple-A manager in Chad Tracy, who greeted the left-hander with a hug as the pair prepared to make its Fenway Park debut together.
The 25-year-old Bennett impressed at Worcester with a 0.86 ERA in five starts in his first taste of Triple-A action. He brings valuable depth to the organization as well as traits that his manager is ready to see translate at the next level.
“It's a big, tall guy that can get down the mound with big extension,” Tracy said before the game. “So I watched him for five starts or whatever it was down in Worcester. The ball tends to jump on guys and you see a lot of weak contact. You tend to see a lot of early count outs because he's in the strike zone so much. I think that part, that piece excites me.
‘“He has the ability to slide-step, be quicker to the plate. He has the ability to high leg [kick]. There's a lot of things to like, but the big one is this guy -- you know, at least down there -- he gets in the strike zone and attacks hitters. So between that and his arsenal, I'm optimistic about him.”
Bennett worked a scoreless first inning and punched out Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez with his hardest pitch of the night, a 95 mph sinker, for his first MLB strikeout. That’s no easy task against the hitter who has the highest career OPS against the Red Sox in team history (minimum 100 plate appearances).
“Super special moment,” Bennett said of the strikeout, from which he kept the ball to mark the milestone. “He's an incredible hitter. For the first one, it was awesome.”
Bennett did throw 27 pitches in the frame, but he settled in after to give his team length in the series opener. Bennett didn’t face more than four hitters in an inning over the next four frames. At the plate, Jarren Duran’s three-run home run in the third inning gave the Red Sox starter some run support.
“It’s always nice to put a good swing on the ball,” Duran said. “I was just looking to get the job done there, bring the runner in from third, just tie the game, get us going a little bit -- and I just happened to run into the homer right there.”
Tracy lifted Bennett after five productive innings and 85 pitches, with just one run allowed on a Carlos Correa solo homer. Bennett had a balanced attack, led by his sinker and his changeup, as he racked up 10 swings-and-misses.
In a spot start, the lefty did enough to depart with a 3-1 lead, which four relievers preserved, capped off by Aroldis Chapman’s sixth save of the season. Bennett earned the joy of a special night in front of 25 friends and family members.
The Red Sox will wait to see if Kutter Crawford, Johan Oviedo and Patrick Sandoval will contribute to their starting pitching depth. In the meantime, Bennett stepped up as a reliable option to take the ball in the Majors.
In their first game at Fenway, Bennett and Tracy each ended the night in the win column.
“It was amazing,” Tracy said. “I commented to the infielders on the one pitching change -- I was looking around, it was pretty awesome. It's Fenway, you know? So I had a blast. I took a couple moments to kind of look around and say, ‘Look where I'm at.’ So it was special.”