re: Benintendi called up by Red Sox

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Hall of Famer.

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The Red Sox had been planning to ease Andrew Benintendi into the starting lineup.

With a plan to play him only against right-handed pitchers, the Sox thought they could make a simpler transition for the left-handed-hitting prospect with the smooth swing.

But after Benintendi went 2-for-3 in his first career start against the Mariners last week in Seattle and 3-for-4 with two RBI and a stolen base in an 8-5 loss to the Dodgers last night, manager John Farrell is already considering altering his plans.

Asked if it was time to make Benintendi an everyday player in left field rather than platooning him with Bryce Brentz, Farrell said, “Yeah, it’s getting closer certainly. We had every intention to ease (Benintendi) in. That easing-in period has happened relatively quick. To say that he won’t see at-bats against left-handers, I’m not going to say that. But we’ve got three right-handed starters coming up in this next series against New York so the one thing you can say is that for the early at-bats, the early starts to his big league career, it’s been impressive.”

Benintendi began last night by slicing a single to left field in the third inning. David Price couldn’t move him over to second with a bunt, so Benintendi stole the base during the next at-bat. It was the first steal of his major league career after swiping 16 bags in 25 tries in the minors this season.

In the fourth, he lifted a 1-1 curveball into right field for a two-out single while collecting his first career RBI and giving the Red Sox a 2-0 lead.

The 22-year-old added another two-out single to right field by going down to get a changeup for a second RBI. Benintendi then came around to score from second base on a single to left by Mookie Betts. Benintendi hadn’t reached third base when left fielder Rob Segedin gloved the ball, but he flew around the bases and touched home on a crafty head-first slide.

“I was more excited about sliding head-first,” he said. “That’s the first time I slid head-first in a while. In the minors you have to slide feet-first.”

Benintendi is 5-for-13 with three strikeouts since being promoted to the big leagues.

Walking wounded

This is the time of year players are often feeling the pain of a long season. The Red Sox are hurting, with three of the top five hitters in their lineup dealing with injuries.

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Andrew Benintendi (22 yrs, 34 days old) is youngest Red Sox OF with 3+ hits vs Yankees at Fenway since Ted Williams in 1940

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