Red Sox rookie lefty, in a night of firsts at Fenway, wins MLB debut

“Definitely a grind with the two baserunners,” recounted Bennett. “I was just trying to slow the game down, take it one pitch at a time and just attack hitters.”

“You’re watching (closely) for sure,” said Tracy of the brief struggles by Bennett in the first. “I remember thinking in that moment, I don’t know if I remember seeing him walk back-to-back hitters at all in Worcester, in the time that we were there. But you’re also aware it is his debut. When he got the last out, I was like, ‘Alright, he got the first three outs. He gets to come sit down.’ I felt like he’d settle in and the strike-throwing was pretty good after that.”

Bennett worked around some brief difficulty in the second on a two-out single, and survived a solo homer from Carlos Correa to start the third.

His biggest task came in the fifth. With his pitch count climbing, he was touched for a one-out single from Dustin Harris, with Correa and the ever-lethal Yordan Alvarez due next.

“That was a decision to make, big-time,” acknowledged Tracy. “You’re very aware that he’s going to be fatiguing. Getting the first out was big because if the first guy gets on (or) if they load the bases, this could be Yordan with the bases loaded. But he did a fantastic job.”

After Bennett came back to the dugout following the harrowing fifth, Tracy hugged his pitcher and commended him for a job well done.

The lefty became just the seventh pitcher in franchise history — and first since Juan Peña in 1999 — to start and allow one or no runs while earning a win in their major league debut at Fenway.

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