The Boston Red Sox defeated the San Francisco Giants 5-4 at Fenway Park on Sunday, to complete a three-game sweep, Boston’s 10th series sweep of the 2026 season.
The Red Sox now head to Miami for three games against the Marlins before heading into the Bronx for a season-defining four-game series against the New York Yankees.
Red Sox rookie left-hander Jake Bennett got the win on Sunday, completing a strong seven-inning outing allowing three runs with six strikeouts and just one walk. According to one report, the win put Bennett in line for what would rank as the most important start of his young career.
Jake Bennett’s Yankees Start Takes Shape
Red Sox beat reporter Chris Cotillo detailed Boston’s rotation plans Sunday, laying out a sequence built around the Marlins series that slots Sonny Gray, Payton Tolle and Ranger Suárez to Miami starts. That alignment sets up Patrick Sandoval to open the Yankee Stadium series Friday and leaves Bennett projected for one half of Saturday’s doubleheader, Cotillo reported Sunday.
Saturday’s doubleheader is a makeup of a previously postponed game, giving Boston a fourth pitcher slot to fill across the four-game set. No competing report has surfaced to challenge the projection, though the Red Sox have shown a willingness to adjust Bennett’s workload on short notice.
The Red Sox gave Bennett extra rest this month ahead of Sunday’s start, pushing him nine days between outings rather than sending him out on his normal turn. Interim manager Chad Tracy called the plan a “high-intensity” bullpen session designed to keep Bennett’s arm sharp without adding to his innings total.
Bennett is up to roughly 120 innings this season, already more than he threw at Oklahoma in his 2022 draft year, and well past the total he compiled in 2023 before missing all of 2024 following Tommy John surgery.
“Save a little bit of bullets,” Bennett said of the plan, as quoted by The Boston Globe.
Red Sox Weigh Bennett’s Role in Playoff Push
The Tampa Bay Rays sit atop the American League East entering the week, with the Yankees and Red Sox both positioned in the wild-card mix behind them. Sunday’s sweep pulls Boston closer in that race just as the schedule turns toward its toughest stretch, with every game in the Yankee Stadium series carrying increased pressure for home-field advantage in the postseason.
Boston acquired Bennett from Washington in December, sending pitching prospect Luis Perales to the Nationals in a deal that Red Sox officials framed as adding rotation depth for a postseason push. The 25-year-old left-hander debuted in the majors on May 1 with a win over Houston and has held a rotation spot since.
Bennett Already Beaten the Yankees Once
Bennett has faced New York exactly once, and the outing still stands as the best of his young career. He carried a no-hit bid into the fifth inning at Fenway Park on June 27 before Max Schuemann’s solo homer, finishing with a then-career-high 6 1/3 innings and just one run allowed in a 4-1 Red Sox win.
“Incredible. Everything that I’ve ever dreamed of,” Bennett said after outdueling New York’s lineup that afternoon, relying on command over velocity with a five-pitch mix that produced outs across the board.
Whether that outing repeats itself depends on how Boston divides Saturday’s doubleheader — and whether the caution the Red Sox have shown with Bennett’s workload holds up under the pressure of a season-defining series.
Red Sox Rookie Jake Bennett to Start vs. Yankees After Giants Win: Report