Former Red Sox Andrew Benintendi’s heroics help White Sox avoid historic loss

Benintendi now has three walk-off hits in 2024.

Andrew Benintendi’s moment: As has become a subplot to the 2024 MLB season, the White Sox have struggled to a near-historic degree.

Entering Wednesday’s game against the Angels, Chicago held a dismal 37-120 record. One more defeat would officially clinch the worst season in modern MLB history (since 1901), breaking the previous mark set by the 1962 Mets.

But as happened on Tuesday night, the White Sox persevered and managed to prevent the 121st defeat for another day. This time, it was due to former Red Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi.

Benintendi, 30, stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the 10th and sliced a base hit into left field, driving in Miguel Vargas for the winning run. The walk-off handed Chicago a 4-3 win:

“Obviously, it’s been a long year, and I feel like we’ve been talking about it all year,” Benintendi said after the game per Scott Merkin of MLB.com. “But there’s four more left, and we’re trying to make the most out of it.”

Originally drafted in the first round by the Red Sox in 2015 (seventh overall), Benintendi was part of a notable Boston outfield that included Jackie Bradley Jr. and Mookie Betts. The trio helped the Red Sox win the 2018 World Series. In 2021, he was dealt to the Royals as part of a three-team trade.

Since then, he’s also spent time in New York with the Yankees before signing with the White Sox in 2023.

For now, Benintendi’s goal is simply to hold back the weight of history as long as he can. To the 18,423 fans who turned up in Chicago to see potential history on Wednesday, he had a simple message.

“Wait one more day,” Benintendi joked. “Maybe.”

Trivia: Jarren Duran has totaled 14 triples so far in the 2024 season. According to Baseball Reference, it’s the most triples in a single season by a member of the team since another player hit 15 of them in back-to-back years in 1977 and 1978. Can you name that player?

(Answer at the bottom.)

Hint: He also led the American League in home runs in both of those seasons.

Scores and schedules:

On Wednesday, the Connecticut Sun defeated the Indiana Fever 87-81 to complete the 2-0 first round playoff series sweep.

The Red Sox lost to the Blue Jays 6-1 on Wednesday night. As a result, Boston was officially eliminated from playoff contention for the third season in a row.

Tonight at 7 p.m., the Bruins will be in New York to face the Rangers in a third preseason clash.

More from Boston.com:

• Red Sox’ Kristian Campbell named Baseball America’s ‘Prospect of the Year’
• Jayson Tatum says Larry Bird is the greatest Celtic ever: ‘That’s the guy I’m chasing’
• ESPN’s Zach Lowe thinks the NBA ‘should be terrified of the Celtics’

Bill O’Brien’s favorite Patriots coaching moments: The Boston College head coach looked back on his time with the Patriots during a recent appearance on Julian Edelman’s “Games With Names” podcast.

Winter is (eventually) coming: Fall is in full swing across New England (as seen in the below photo of Killington Peak), but winter is not too far behind. And while that might not be everyone’s favorite news, it’s exactly what skiers are looking to hear.

For fans of the sport, the 2024-25 season will once again bring plenty of top level competition. For the second year in a row, New England will host multiple FIS World Cup events, including Waterville Freestyle Cup in January.

Before that, as has become a tradition since 2016, will be the Killington Cup on Thanksgiving Weekend. Along with a just-announced lineup of musical entertainment, the New England ski area will once again be the setting for Mikaela Shiffrin and a talented field in the women’s slalom and giant slalom.

On this day: In 2000, Vince Carter threw down one of the all-time iconic dunks during the Summer Olympics as he helped Team USA defeat France 106-94.

Daily highlight: Giulianna Gianino scored an “Olimpico” goal (directly from a corner kick) to hand Boston University a 3-2 win over Colgate on Wednesday.

Trivia answer: Jim Rice