San Francisco Giants at Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox were staggering a little as they got home last week, coming off a 2-5 road trip, not to mention seven losses over a nine-game stretch that immediately followed a franchise-record run of 27-3. As they got ready to board a plane to Miami on Sunday night, you could consider them rejuvenated. Speaking of rejuvenated, that’s how rookie lefty Jake Bennett felt making his start on nine days' rest and pitching seven innings for the first time since July 8. Bennett (8-6, 3.39 ERA) earned the win, leading the Red Sox past the Giants, 5-4, to complete a three-game sweep. For Bennett, the rest was purposefully designed to keep him as strong as possible for the final stretch. “I feel good. Body and arm feel really good,” Bennett said. “Just really trying to keep building off this outing and finish strong.” When Bennett gave up three runs over the first two innings, you could hear the rest versus rust debate growing. But rest eventually won out, and Bennett was razor sharp over his final five frames of a performance in which he scattered seven hits and three earned runs while walking one, striking out six and throwing an economical 84 pitches. “I just felt at the start of the game, my delivery didn't feel super synced up. I felt like I was tripping forward a little bit, and then pulling with my glove side,” Bennett said. “So once I stayed over the rubber a little bit better, I just had a conscious mind of staying closed as long as I could, and I felt like that just helped me fly through the zone, kind of got me back on track.”