Jake Bennett strong in MLB debut, Jarren Duran's 3-run blast lifts Red Sox over Astros

It was a night of firsts for the Red Sox on Friday.

Boston promoted left-hander Jake Bennett, who made his Major League debut in place of Garrett Crochet after the ace landed on the injured list earlier in the week.

Meanwhile, Chad Tracy managed his first game at Fenway Park as interim manager, marking his first time stepping onto the field in that role at the iconic ballpark.

“It’s cool,” Tracy said. “It’s everything I thought it would be. “Before today, I had not stepped onto the field. Came a few years ago. Alex had invited me down to come on a Monday for a series and it ended up raining all day long. We were playing the Yankees. I never actually go on the field. It has been cool."

The night of firsts was punctuated by an impressive outing from Bennett, who tossed five innings, allowing five hits, one run (a solo homer), with two walks and three strikeouts to earn his first big league win in a 3-1 Red Sox victory over the Astros.

“Five innings, one run, against that lineup?” said Tracy. “Pretty good job.”

Calm and composed, Bennett took the mound and quickly retired Carlos Correa on two pitches, getting the veteran to fly out to Jarren Duran on a 93.6 mph sinker. One batter later, he faced Yordan Alvarez, who hit 12 home runs in April, the second-most in Astros history, and won the battle, striking him out looking on a 94.7 mph sinker on the outer half.

Houston made Bennett work in the first inning, forcing him to throw 27 pitches, but he settled in from there.

Bennett cruised into the third before Correa connected on a 93.2 mph four-seam fastball, sending it into the Green Monster seats to give Houston a 1-0 lead. The solo shot didn’t faze the left-hander, who bounced back by getting Christian Walker to ground into an inning-ending double play.

“Just an unreal experience,” Bennett said after the game. “Words really can’t put it into perspective....dream come true. Incredible atmosphere, and I’m super blessed to be able do it.”

Boston responded in the bottom half, plating three runs in an inning sparked by one of the game’s biggest at-bats, an 11-pitch walk from Carlos Narváez. Caleb Durbin followed with a single up the middle, putting two on for Duran.

Duran, who entered the game in an 0-for-14 skid and hitting just .170, turned things around. Using his new toe tap, he timed a 78.6 mph curveball from Mike Burrows and launched it over the bullpens for a three-run homer, just the third three-run shot for Boston this season, joining Willson Contreras and Trevor Story.

In total, the Red Sox had five consecutive hitters reach base in the third inning.

Speaking of Contreras, his first at-bat had an odd moment. After getting hit by a pitch from Burrows, he initially broke toward the mound before picking up the ball, flipping it back to Burrows, and jogging to first.

Outside of Narváez’s 11-pitch walk and Duran’s three-run blast, the story was Bennett. He retired Alvarez three times, striking him out once, and finished with 85 pitches, 58 for strikes, generating 10 swings and misses. Bennett mixed his arsenal well, throwing 26 sinkers and changeups, 22 four-seam fastballs, nine curveballs, and two cutters.

Marcelo Mayer continues to stay hot at the plate, extending his hitting streak to nine games. Roman Anthony, meanwhile, is still searching for consistency, though he showed hustle in the fifth inning, turning a single into his fourth double of the season. Boston couldn’t capitalize on the opportunity. Anthony finished the night 3-for-4, his first three-hit game this season since Opening Day in Cincinnati. 

Boston hit Burrows hard, scoring three runs (all earned) on eight hits, with one walk and three strikeouts, including the three-run homer by Duran.

One thing to monitor is the health of right-hander Garrett Whitlock. During the NESN broadcast, Lou Merloni noted Whitlock appeared to be catching the ball awkwardly with his glove. Pre-game footage also showed him tending to his left thumb.

After working the eighth inning, allowing two hits, Whitlock was later seen on the broadcast with his thumb in a brace, raising some concern moving forward.

Things got dicey in the ninth, but All-Star closer Aroldis Chapman shut the door.

Chapman struck out Brice Matthews to open the frame before former Red Sox catcher Christian Vázquez pinch hit and grounded out to Story. Correa then doubled off the wall in center, setting up a key matchup with Alvarez.

Chapman won it, getting Alvarez to ground out to second to end the game. Alvarez finished the night 0-for-5.

The Red Sox totaled 10 hits in the win, struck out just four times, went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position, and left six men on base.

The Red Sox improved to 8-5 in their Fenway Greens uniforms with the win, their first in those alternates that didn’t come via walk-off. Boston is now 3-2 under interim manager Chad Tracy.

 “It was amazing," Tracy said of his first win at Fenway Park. "I commented with the infielders on the one pitching change, I was looking around, like, this is pretty awesome, you know? Like, it's Fenway, you know? So I had a blast... I took a couple moments to kind of look around and say, look where I'm at. So it was special.”

The Sox will continue its brief three-game homestand Saturday afternoon, with left-hander Connelly Early (2-1, 2.84 ERA) set to take the mound. He’ll be opposed by Astros right-hander Spencer Arrighetti (3-0, 2.00 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 4:10 p.m. on NESN.