Red Sox ride Jake Bennett's gem to shutout win over Yankees in Game 1

The Red Sox needed something to change after going 18 consecutive innings without scoring a run.

Wilyer Abreu gave the Red Sox the spark they desperately needed, snapping Boston’s scoreless streak with a first-inning home run, and Jake Bennett took care of the rest with six dominant innings in a 6-0 win over the Yankees in Game 1 of Saturday’s doubleheader at Yankee Stadium.

Boston’s offense didn’t exactly roar back to life from there. The Red Sox managed just one more run through the next seven innings, but with Bennett and the bullpen keeping New York off the board, they had time to find their footing.

They finally did in the ninth, erupting for four runs to turn a tight game into a rout and put the finishing touches on a much-needed win in the Bronx.

The win improved Boston to 74-61 and pulled the Red Sox back within two games of the Yankees for the top American League Wild Card spot entering Saturday night’s second game. After dropping Friday’s opener, Boston needed to win two of the final three games this weekend to secure the season series and the potential Wild Card tiebreaker over New York.

After the Red Sox went scoreless in Wednesday’s 4-0 loss to Miami and Friday’s 1-0 loss to New York, Abreu jumped on Carlos Rodón with two outs in the first and drove a 387-foot solo home run at 108.5 mph to give Boston a 1-0 lead.

The homer was Abreu’s 23rd of the season, establishing a new career high. He also set a career high with his 70th RBI.

Abreu entered Saturday with a .955 OPS in August, but most of that damage came during the first half of the month. He hit .346 with a .455 on-base percentage and .788 slugging percentage over his first 15 games before slipping to .194/.293/.333 over his next nine.

After collecting two hits Friday and homering Saturday, Abreu may be heating back up.

For a while, his home run was the only offense either team could muster as Rodón retired 13 of the first 14 Red Sox hitters he faced, while Bennett was every bit as sharp on the other side.

That was particularly encouraging considering where Bennett stood only a few weeks ago.

The rookie had allowed 17 runs over 27 innings for a 5.67 ERA across five starts from July 22 through Aug. 14. The downturn raised legitimate questions about whether Bennett was beginning to wear down after already surpassing his previous career high in innings between college and professional baseball.

Bennett allowed three hits, didn’t walk a batter and struck out seven over six scoreless innings Saturday. In his two starts since receiving the extra rest, the left-hander has allowed three earned runs over 13 innings.

He improved to 9-6 with a 3.27 ERA and 74 strikeouts over 93 2/3 innings through his first 16 major league starts.

Bennett did need some help to keep the Yankees off the board in the fourth.

Amed Rosario reached on Caleb Durbin’s error and moved into scoring position on an Adley Rutschman passed ball. Heliot Ramos then drove a liner into center that completely crossed up Ceddanne Rafaela.

Rafaela initially broke one way, reversed course and couldn’t recover before the ball dropped for a double.

The Sox were able to quickly salvage the mistake when Rafaela quickly retrieved the ball and fired to Nick Sogard, who made a smooth transfer and delivered an on-target relay to Rutschman at the plate. Rosario was cut down trying to score, preserving Boston’s 1-0 lead.

It was a strong play by Sogard, who has been steady around the infield despite struggling while filling in at first base Wednesday in Miami. He has committed only one error across 273 innings at second, third and shortstop.

The Yankees then returned the favor by helping Boston manufacture its second run.

Rutschman singled with one out in the fifth before Andruw Monasterio lined a 99.9 mph shot directly at second baseman Rosario. Rutschman should have been doubled off first, but Rosario’s throw hit him and bounced away, allowing the catcher to reach second.

Sogard followed with a single to put runners at the corners, and Rutschman eventually scored on a passed ball to make it 2-0.

Rodón unraveled from there issuing a walk and hit a batter to load the bases before Yankees manager Aaron Boone pulled him. Yerry De Los Santos entered and got Rafaela to fly out, preventing the Red Sox from doing further damage.

Rodón finished after 4 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on three hits and a walk while striking out five.

Boston stranded runners at the corners again in the sixth, but Bennett never allowed those missed opportunities to become an issue.

After navigating the fourth, he needed just 11 pitches to retire the Yankees in the fifth and eight more to get through the sixth. He walked off after only 83 pitches with his eighth quality start in 16 big league outings.

Tyron Guerrero followed with a scoreless seventh before Garrett Whitlock made his return from the injured list in the eighth.

Whitlock hadn’t pitched since Aug. 9 because of right elbow inflammation, but showed no signs of rust. He retired the side in order, recording a called strikeout between a lineout to right and flyout to center.

His return gives Boston another major late-inning weapon alongside Aroldis Chapman, Guerrero, Erik Miller and Justin Slaten, with the possibility of Tanner Houck and Garrett Crochet eventually joining the mix as well.

Initially, it appeared Chapman might be needed to protect the two-run lead in the ninth but the Sox' offense broke out in a big way. 

Durbin drew a leadoff walk and showed excellent awareness on Rutschman’s bloop single into shallow right-center. When Jazz Chisholm Jr. couldn’t make the catch, Durbin got an immediate read and helped set the table for Boston’s biggest inning of the afternoon.

Monasterio eventually delivered the dagger with a two-run single, Sogard followed with an RBI double and Rafaela added an RBI single to suddenly make it 6-0.

The outburst also allowed Chad Tracy to keep Chapman in the bullpen for Saturday night. Lefty Jovani Morán handled the ninth instead and retired the side in order to complete the shutout.

The ninth-inning rally overshadowed what was an encouraging afternoon for Rutschman as well.

After entering Saturday just 6-for-45 (.133) since joining the Red Sox, the catcher collected three singles and scored a run. Tracy had been asked repeatedly about Rutschman’s struggles over the previous 24 hours, and the three-hit game offered his first real sign of breaking through.

Willson Contreras is heading in the opposite direction as he went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts and now has only four hits, including one for extra bases, over his past 27 at-bats.

Boston won’t have much time to enjoy the win with Game 2 is scheduled for 7:15 p.m., with the Red Sox will go with Alec Gamboa (1-0, 1.31 ERA) before potentially turning things over to Brayan Bello in bulk relief. Max Fried (4-4, 2.81 ERA) is scheduled to start for New York.