BOSTON --- Andrew Benintendi and flamboyance don’t exactly go together on the baseball field.
The Red Sox left fielder looks more likely to take a nap on the bench than talk trash to his opponents. Benintendi is long gone most nights by the time the assembled media are allowed into Boston’s clubhouse, showered and dressed and ready to fight again the following day.
Turns out Benintendi’s batting stance also benefits from the simple. Eliminating the leg [...]
BOSTON --- Andrew Benintendi and flamboyance don’t exactly go together on the baseball field.
The Red Sox left fielder looks more likely to take a nap on the bench than talk trash to his opponents. Benintendi is long gone most nights by the time the assembled media are allowed into Boston’s clubhouse, showered and dressed and ready to fight again the following day.
Turns out Benintendi’s batting stance also benefits from the simple. Eliminating the leg kick he attempted to incorporate through the season’s first three months has been a boon for his offense, as seen yet again in Friday’s 9-1 slapping of the Orioles.
Benintendi grounded to the pitcher in his first at-bat, perhaps lulling Baltimore into a false sense of security. He proceeded to fall just a home run shy of the cycle – triple to right-center in the bottom of the fourth inning, single up the middle in the fifth, double down the line in left in the seventh. All of this was done seemingly without breaking a sweat, as Benintendi’s smooth left-handed swing sprayed the ball all over Fenway Park.
“It’s something you learn,” Benintendi said. “It’s definitely made me feel more comfortable eliminating that leg kick. Just trying to keep it simple.”
Benintendi’s last 24 games have been a tour de force – .393/.434/.697, 19 extra-base hits, 21 RBI. He’s feasting in the fifth spot in the batting order, the direct beneficiary of the carnage taking place in front of him. Benintendi scored two runs and drove in a pair on Friday, including the eventual winner.
“I never felt like I doubted anything,” Benintendi said. “I’m still just going out there and playing. Things just seem to be going better than they did in the first half.”
One of Benintendi’s fellow understated teammates enjoyed a smooth night on the mound. Boston right-hander Rick Porcello stopped a stretch of eight consecutive starts with a home run allowed. He limited Baltimore to a double, three singles and two walks in six tidy innings, requiring just 84 pitches.
“Fortunate enough to get some quick outs and get through the sixth,” Porcello said. “Our guys did a great job of swinging the bats and put up a bunch of runs.”
Porcello also notched a milestone in the fourth, reaching 2000 career innings pitched when Jace Peterson flew to left field. He’s one of just 12 active pitchers above that mark, including current Red Sox teammate David Price and former Detroit teammates Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer. Porcello allowed a moment of self-congratulations to slip through his normally cool veneer.
“I can look back and say I got 6,000 outs in the big leagues,” Porcello said. “Not many people can say they did that. I’m very proud of that.”
This sort of workman-like approach is exactly what Boston requires over the next 38 games. The Red Sox have a significant mountain to climb, still trailing the Rays by 6½ games in the race for the second American League wild card spot.
“We know where we’re at,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “There’s no hiding from it. That was a good game today.”
There needs to be another one Saturday. And another one Sunday. And another one Tuesday – you get the point by now. Boston could require as many as 30 wins between now and the end of September to catch Tampa Bay and Oakland. Taking a one-day view toward that long-term goal is the only answer, and the Red Sox have the character on their bench to at least make a credible attempt.
“Everybody knows we’re very talented,” Cora said. “It’s just a matter of us going out there and doing it.”
bkoch@providencejournal.com
On Twitter: @BillKoch25