Jake Bennett dominates as Red Sox top Yankees in first game of doubleheader

Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald on Aug 29, 2026

Published in Baseball

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Where would the Boston Red Sox be without Jake Bennett?

Coming into the season somewhere around ninth or 10th on the Red Sox’s starting pitching depth chart, it wouldn’t have surprised anyone if the recently acquired pitching prospect spent the entire season honing his craft in Triple-A. Instead injuries pressed the left-hander into action, and the rookie has taken his opportunity and run with it.

This weekend he delivered once again.

Bennett was brilliant on Saturday afternoon, pitching six scoreless innings to help lead the Red Sox to a huge 6-0 win over the New York Yankees in the first game of a doubleheader. Bennett allowed just three hits with no walks, struck out seven and set up the back end of the Red Sox bullpen to complete the shutout.

The Red Sox offense was quiet for most of the afternoon, but Wilyer Abreu’s solo home run in the first inning proved to be all the club needed. Adley Rutschman also went 3 for 4 with a run scored and the Red Sox rallied for four runs in the top of the ninth to put the game away.

Having been shut out in back-to-back games for the first time this season, the Red Sox needed a spark to jumpstart the suddenly ice cold offense. Abreu obliged, hitting a solo home run in the top of the first to ensure the scoreless streak didn’t extend any farther than 18 innings.

Abreu’s shot was also his 23rd of the season, marking a new career-high.

Following Friday’s 1-0 pitcher’s duel both Red Sox rookie Jake Bennett and Yankees left-hander Carlos Rodon picked up where their teammates left off and dominated through the early innings. Rodon retired 13 of the first 14 batters he faced — with Abreu’s solo homer the only blemish over that stretch — and Bennett kept pace by downing 10 of the first 11 into the fourth inning.

That streak was broken when Amed Rosario reached in the fourth inning on an error by Caleb Durbin, the first in an uncharacteristically sloppy sequence that almost resulted in the Yankees tying the game.

Rutschman gave up a passed ball to move Rosario into scoring position and then Heliot Ramos hit a double that crossed up Ceddanne Rafaela in center field, but Nick Sogard salvaged the play and delivered a dart of a relay throw from second base to nail Rosario at home plate.

From there the Yankees nearly gave the game away.

Rodon gave up a single to Rutschman with one out in the fifth, and the Red Sox catcher advanced to second after an attempt to double him up at first on a subsequent line out bounced away for an error. A Sogard single then put runners at the corners, and Rutschman scored on a passed ball to make it 2-0.

Rodon was visibly frustrated after the run scored, and afterwards he came completely unglued. A walk and a hit batsman later Rodon was pulled with the bases loaded, though reliever Yerry de los Santos was able to clean up the mess by drawing a flyout from Rafaela to end the inning.

The Yankee starter finished with two runs allowed on three hits, a walk and five strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings.

The Red Sox squandered another scoring chance in the sixth after leaving runners at the corners, but Bennett made sure the two-run lead held up. The rookie followed his tense fourth inning with an 11-pitch fifth and an eight-pitch sixth, finishing his outing after just 83 pitches to record his eighth quality start.

Bennett is now 9-6 with a 3.27 ERA and 74 strikeouts over 93 2/3 innings through his first 16 big league starts.

Tyron Guerrero tossed a scoreless seventh, Garrett Whitlock — who was activated from the injured list prior to the doubleheader — threw a perfect eighth in his first game back since Aug. 9, and it looked as if Aroldis Chapman would come in to lock things down in the ninth.

But that wound up not being necessary after the Red Sox bats erupted in the top of the ninth. Andruw Monasterio delivered the dagger with a two-run single to break the game open, Nick Sogard extended the lead with an RBI double and Rafaela hit an RBI single to round out the scoring.

Jovani Moran pitched a perfect ninth to wrap things up.

The Red Sox improved to 74-61 with the win, moving back to two games behind the Yankees in the standings leading into the nightcap.

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