1:53 pm: The Red Sox announced Bennett as Friday’s starter.
The Red Sox acquired Bennett from Washington last December to pitch to Luis Perales. The Nationals selected Bennett in the second round of the 2022 MLB draft. He missed the 2024 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
“Big-time strikeout thrower,” said Chad Tracy, who will make his Fenway debut as interim manager for the Red Sox. “Velocity and fastball have obviously increased. He had an arm injury when he was with Washington. But when he’s sitting there at 94 (mph) — another guy like (Payton) Towle, doesn’t throw as hard, but a big guy who really gets down the mound with great extension. So he gets into hitters, too, because the fastball plays well.”
The Astros will face right-hander Mike Burroughs, who is 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA in two starts against the Red Sox.
Here’s a preview.
Astros (12-20): Correa SS, Alvarez DH, Paredes 3B, Walker 1B, Altuve 2B, Diaz C, Smith RF, Matthews CF, Harris LF.
Pitching: RHP Mike Burroughs (1-3, 6.25 ERA)
Red Sox (12-19): Duran LF, Contreras 1B, Anthony DH, Abreu RF, Story SS, Meyer 2B, Rafaela CF, Narvaez C, Durbin 3B.
Pitching: LHP Jake Bennett (MLB debut)
Time: 7:10 pm
TV, Radio: NESN+, WEI-FM 93.7
Astros vs. Bennett: Has not faced any Houston batsman
Red Sox vs. Burrows: Willier Abreu 1-3, Roman Anthony 1-1, Willson Contreras 1-2, Jarren Duran 2-5, Caleb Durbin 0-6, Isiah Kiner-Falefa 0-1, Carlos Narvaez 0-1, Sedan Rafaela 0-1, Trevor Story 1-5, Connor Wong 2-2, Masataka Yoshida 1-4.
Status of the day: Yordan Alvarez is hitting .391 with nine home runs and 25 RBI in 26 regular season games against the Red Sox.
notes: Bennett is 2-1 with a 0.86 ERA in five starts with Worcester this season. He has scored 16 runs in 21 innings and has scored three times. … “He’s very much in this area,” said Tracy, who managed Bennett with the Woosox. “Does a good job of catching runners. He can go off a slide step, he can use a leg kick, land all those things. But he’s really, really good at at least getting the ball down into the strike zone. And he gets a lot of weak contact.” … While the Sox were off Thursday, the Astros split a doubleheader with the Orioles in Baltimore. … Alvarez had his 13-game hitting streak snapped in Thursday’s opener, but bounced back with a home run in Houston’s 11-5 win in the nightcap. He is tied for the AL lead in home runs (12) and is first in RBI (27) and batting average (.356).
Field level media information was used in this report.
Follow Andrew Mahoney @globemahoney.
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