Let’s start simple. Andrew Benintendi went 1-3 last night against Sean Manaea, which is pretty good for him against a lefty, not to mention one who no-hit the whole dang team last time out. It was an infield hit, sure, and Beni looked predictably lost in his other two at-bats against the southpaw, yes, but: it was a hit. This was progress. Do a little dance.
On team full of young position players, Benintendi is the most interesting and currently confounding. Mookie Betts is the best, Xander Bogaerts is damn close and Rafael Devers the baby prodigy of the bunch, but Benintendi is the biggest mystery.