Jake Bennett allows six runs, three homers as Red Sox lose series to Angels

Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald on Sep 9, 2026

Published in Baseball

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It appeared for a moment that Jake Bennett had strike three on Zach Neto. His 0-2 sweeper caught the outside edge of the zone, the umpire ruled, but the ABS challenge system determined otherwise and Neto’s at bat continued.

That successful challenge changed the course of the game.

Neto eventually worked the count full before taking Bennett deep for a three-run home run, sparking what wound up being a five-run, fifth-inning rally. Jose Siri and Denzer Guzman homered as well, helping hand the Red Sox a 6-4 loss and a disappointing series defeat.

The Red Sox scored the game’s final four runs, including an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth to cut the deficit to two, but Roman Anthony’s potential game-tying shot fell a bit short for the game’s final out.

Prior to the third inning Bennett had been cruising. He faced the minimum six batters, allowing only a leadoff single to Neto to start the game before immediately erasing the baserunner by drawing a double play. But coming out in the third he gave up back-to-back singles and found himself with two men in scoring position after Tyler Heineman’s sacrifice bunt.

That brought up Neto, who smoked the seventh pitch of the at bat to the first row of the Green Monster seats.

The Angels teed off on Bennett from there, with Mike Trout lacing a double to the left-center gap before Siri’s 382-foot bomb into the Red Sox bullpen. All told the Angels ran off five runs on five hits in the third, and the following inning Denzer Guzman extended his team’s lead by smashing a solo shot off the National Car Rental sign above the Monster.

Prior to Wednesday the largest deficit the Red Sox had overcome in a win was four runs. Trailing 6-0 in the fourth they obviously had their work cut out for them.

Bennett at least managed to settle down and keep things from unraveling any further. He posted a scoreless fifth and recorded one out in the sixth before coming out after walking Christian Moore. He finished with six runs allowed over 5 1/3 innings, surrendering nine hits and a walk while striking out two.

The Angels also made three outs on the base paths between the fourth and the sixth, including consecutive inning-ending outfield assists and a failed attempt to steal third. Trout also grounded into two double plays, and those plays collectively undercut potential rallies and opened the door for a comeback.

Could the Red Sox take advantage? They at least made things interesting.

The Red Sox offense began showing signs of life in the fifth, getting a two-run home run from Anthony to get Boston on the board. Wilyer Abreu followed with a leadoff solo shot in the sixth, cutting the deficit to a more manageable three runs heading into the late innings.

Those big swings were the only damage the Red Sox could inflict on Angels starter Ryan Johnson, who gave up three runs over six innings with five hits, one walk and five strikeouts over 103 pitches.

Boston had a chance to claw closer in the seventh but stranded Jarren Duran at second after the outfielder reached on a leadoff single. The Red Sox couldn’t get a run across in the eighth either, and in the bottom of the ninth they had to contend with Ben Joyce, who ranks among the hardest throwers in baseball history.

Joyce struck Caleb Durbin out on a 104-mph fastball, but he walked Duran, who came in to score on a two-out RBI single by Nate Eaton. That brought Anthony to the plate representing the tying run, but he couldn’t quite get enough on his big fly ball to right, which stayed in the yard and was caught for the game’s final out.

Even with Wednesday’s loss the Red Sox still got some good news. The Cleveland Guardians and Toronto Blue Jays, currently the third wild card and the first team out of the American League playoff field, respectively, both lost on Wednesday as well. That ensured the Red Sox will go into the Thursday off day six games ahead of Cleveland and seven games over the playoff cutline. Boston’s magic number to clinch a playoff spot is now nine.