Don’t be surprised to be seeing more of Andrew Benintendi in Red Sox line-ups, says Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald. Manager John Farrell is already backing away from the original plans to play Benintendi primarily against right-handed pitchers. Any additional playing time for the 22-year-old rookie will likely come at the expense of Bryce Brentz.
On Sunday, Benintendi had three hits against the Dodgers, becoming the seventh player this season with a three-hit outing within their first five major league games. The last Red Sox player to achieve that was Dan Butler on September 10, 2014 in his 4th career game.
In addition to his three hits, Benintendi’s Sunday included his first major league stolen base and two RBIs. The only other Sox player since 1913 with a game like that within his first five big league games was Jody Reed in 1987.
Benintendi is now 5-for–13 (.385) since his debut.