Red Sox: Top five performances of opening series vs Pittsburgh Pirates

Andrew Benintendi

Needing some insurance runs against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the season opener on Yawkey Way Monday afternoon, the Red Sox turned to none other than rookie slugging aficionado, 22-year-old Andrew Benintendi.

Facing Pirates ace Gerrit Cole in the bottom of the fifth inning, Benintendi’s blast into the visiting bullpen gave the Red Sox a 5-0 lead, breaking the game wide open and giving Rick Porcello all he would need in his first start since winning the Cy Young Award.

For Benintendi, he became the youngest Red Sox hitter to homer in a season opener since young Tony Conigliaro did at the ripe age of 20.

Benintendi, as he was rounding the bases appeared to point to someone sitting in the left field corner. Post-game it was discovered that Benintendi was pointing to his parents. Not a bad way for two parents to watch their son’s first Opening Day baseball game.

Finally, something purely hypothetical at this point in time, but Tim Britton of the Providence Journal tweeted something interesting Tuesday morning following the victory. Thanks to a tip from another user, Britton came across an interesting comparison, placing one Red Sox and baseball legend looking eerily similar to Benintendi’s.

While Benintendi’s career may never equal that of Yaz’s, the prior still led his team to an Opening Day victory, playing an adequate left field while providing a big fly for the team to bust it wide open.

Sounds to me like one in the same.