Jake Bennett keeps Cubs scoreless for 3 2/3

It’s unclear how the Red Sox are going to handle the situation since they’re ostensibly locked into the second Wild Card spot heading into the playoffs next week. Patrick Sandoval was scheduled to start Sunday’s season finale and will presumably get the ball on Saturday instead, weather permitting. Jake Bennett, Payton Tolle and Brayan Bello are also in the mix to pitch as well. It’ll be Matthew Boyd and David Peterson most getting the ball for the Cubs during the twin bill with Justin Steele (elbow) in the mix to return from the injured list this weekend. There are a ton of variables that fantasy managers need to monitor with Boston facing inclement weather from roughly Friday evening through Sunday afternoon.

Bennett averaged a season-low 91.8 mph with his fastball tonight. He got seven strikeouts anyway, and he gave up just five hard-hit balls. However, every one of those hard-hit balls turned into hits, as did three non-hard-hit grounders. Bennett will face the Guardians on Tuesday.

Bennett was burned by the long ball in this one, serving up three round-trippers, which included a three-run blast to Zach Neto in the third inning. He finished with only two strikeouts and issued one walk. He gave up nine hits and allowed three earned runs or more for the eighth time in his last nine starts. Not ideal. The 25-year-old rookie has been outstanding for the Red Sox after coming over from the Nationals in an offseason challenge trade, but he appears to be hitting a bit of a metaphorical wall down the home stretch. He’ll attempt to rebound with a road matchup against the Rangers next Wednesday.

Bennett gave up back-to-back homers to Luis Robert Jr. and Pete Alonso in the sixth. Alonso’s really ought to have been caught in center, but Eli White, who is not Ceddanne Rafaela, backed into the wall as he was trying to time his jump. It still goes as Bennett’s third straight quality start, though he missed out on a third straight win. He’ll face the Angels next time out.

Bennett fanned seven and walked none in the gem. It’s his fourth scoreless start of at least six innings in his 16 turns for the Red Sox. He’s over his previous career high for innings and his velocity is down a little, but by limiting the walks and homers, he’s still more than holding his own. He’ll take a 9-6 record and a 3.27 ERA into his next start against the Orioles.

Bennett gave up two runs in a first and would have allowed more if not for an exceptional catch from Ceddanne Rafaela in center. He then allowed a Jonah Cox homer in the second. However, Bennett made things looks easy after that, with the lone remaining run scoring on a double error that gave Christian Koss a Little League homer. Bennett was pitching on nine days’ rest after back-to-back subpar outings against the A’s and Pirates. He’s over his career high in innings, so the Red Sox will try to tread carefully with him the rest of the way. It’s just not going to be easy with the team seemingly postseason bound and Payton Tolle in the same boat as Bennett.

Bennett made it through the first inning without any issues but gave up a solo homer in the second inning to Rafael Flores to put his team down 1-0. The Pirates would add three more runs in the fourth inning after the first three batters reached base, with Esmerlyn Valdez doubling to drive home two runs. Bennett would make it through the inning but did not return in the fifth. He has now allowed three earned runs or more in each of his last five starts, and has a 5.67 ERA over that span. He’ll look to get things back on track in his next start, which is scheduled for Wednesday at home against the Diamondbacks.

Bennett tossed three scoreless innings, then gave up a run on three hits in the fourth. The A’s brought two more runs in to score in the fifth on a hit batter, a single, and a double. Bennett returned for the sixth and issued a walk with one out before he was pulled at 88 pitches. The inherited runner would come in to score. The 25-year-old left-hander will take a 3.17 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, and a 55/16 K/BB ratio across 76 2/3 innings into a start against the Blue Jays in Toronto on Thursday.

All of the runs came in the third after a Teoscar Hernández grounder that really should have been handled rolled through the infield. There was also a very debatable intentional walk to Shohei Ohtani that preceded a two-run single from Andy Pages. Fortunately, the Boston offense picked Bennett up afterwards. He’s 7-4 with a 2.90 ERA ahead of a favorable home start next weekend against the A’s.

Bennett pitched a clean first inning, then gave up a run on two hits in the second. He settled in to hold the A’s from scoring again into the seventh before Brian Serven took him deep for a two-run homer. That would do it for Bennett, ending his day with one out in the seventh at 88 pitches. He struck out four. The 25-year-old left-hander will take a 2.74 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, and a 46/11 K/BB ratio across 65 2/3 innings into a start against the Dodgers in Los Angeles on Sunday.