Boston Red Sox extra bases: Andrew Benintendi rediscovers power at Camden Yards

Rookie Boston Red Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi has been slumping at the plate, but found his power stroke Sunday against the Orioles.

There will be struggles for rookie Andrew Benintendi, but it is how he responds to the lows that will determine how high his star will rise.  On Sunday, the Boston Red Sox left fielder found his power stroke against the Baltimore Orioles.  His two home runs helped catapult the team to a 7-3 victory at Camden Yards.

The leading candidate for American League Rookie of the Year broke out of his slump in a big way against the Orioles.  With the two solo home runs, Benintendi also added a RBI single in the top of the ninth.

The production helped Chris Sale earn his seventh victory, but most importantly got the young outfielder back on track with his offense.

"“It’s been awhile since he got the contact point out front,” Red Sox manager John Farrell said following the game, via MLB.com.  “It was clearly good to see Beni get off the schneid a little bit with those extra-base hits today.”"

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Typically, it takes a couple big hits to break any player out of a slump.  For a player as young as Benintendi, the kind of day he had Sunday could go a long way in re-establishing his confidence at the plate.

Getting his swing back

Before Sunday’s outburst, Andrew Benintendi was batting just .123 with no homers and five RBI since May 10.  The 22-year-old phenom called it “just another game,” but it was obviously that he was relieved to get going again offensively.

"“I mean yeah, being in a slump stinks because you want to be hitting and helping the team win but I came to the field every day excited to get at-bats and work in the cage to find that wing again,” Benintendi said following the game.  “That’s part of where you just mentally stay there and never check out.  I was excited to come here and work with Chili [David] and Vic [Victor Rodriguez] and excited to get those [at-bats] in the game to hopefully find that swing again.”"

It looks as though he did find that sweet swing again.  If the Boston Red Sox can get him going, along with the rest of the lineup, the team should make a major push at the AL crown.

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Of course, that all depends on a healthy starting pitch rotation.