Jake Bennett pitches in again to lead Red Sox past White Sox for fifth straight win

CHICAGO — Red Sox rookie lefthander Jake Bennett pitches with the passion of a man waiting for a bus.

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You won’t see the 25-year-old pump his fist after a strikeout or scowl after giving up a hit with two strikes. Whatever happens, he’s on to the next pitch with the same default expression.

“That’s really weird. But really cool to find that attitude with a young guy like him,” catcher Carlos Narváez said after Bennett fired seven dominant innings in a 5-0 victory against the White Sox Wednesday night at Rate Field.

Weird works. Bennett allowed four singles and struck out four with one walk, dropping his earned run average to 2.61 over eight starts. He combined with Greg Weissert and Jovani Morán to retire the final 13 White Sox hitters in order.

Momentum is building. The Red Sox have won five straight, matching their best streak of the season, and 10 of 12. At 42-48, they are within six games of .500 for the first time since May 22.

They are also a half-game out of third place in the division and three games back in the American League wild card race.

The series finale is Thursday afternoon with Patrick Sandoval making his long-awaited debut. The Red Sox are 5-0 on their road trip with four games remaining before the All-Star break.

“The vibe is great,” Bennett said. “Guys are playing extremely well and just pumped to be doing that.”

The only downside was that first baseman Willson Contreras (bruised left foot) and second baseman Anthony Seigler (bruised left trapezius) left the game due to injuries.

Contreras was still limping a bit after the game after fouling a ball off his foot in the third inning but said he wasn’t concerned it was anything more than a bruise. Seigler was not available for comment.

The second baseman was injured when he collided with the shin guard of Chicago catcher Kyle Teel while scoring on a wild pitch in the third inning.

“I was concerned because he kind of rolled over and was just kind of laying there,” interim manager Chad Tracy said.

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The concern grew when Seigler said his neck hurt. But he was able to get up and walk back to the dugout. Tracy compared it to a football player taking a hard hit.

Through it all, Bennett (4-3) stayed under control, throwing 53 of 81 pitches for strikes and allowing only one runner as far as second base.

That came in the second inning when Chase Meidroth led off the second inning with a single before Sam Antonacci drew a walk.

Bennett struck out Braden Montgomery swinging at a fastball, then fanned Junior Pérez looking at a fastball on the inside corner. Teel was retired on a tapper in front of the plate to end the inning.

Bennett showed no reaction to any of it. He’s the anti-Payton Tolle.

“I’m just a pretty even-keeled guy. I think I’ve always been that way,” Bennett said. “It’s very easy to get emotional. Baseball is a super hard game, and when things don’t go your way, you kind of start tilting. I try and keep it right in the middle.”

White Sox starter Davis Martin came into the game 9-3 with a 3.08 earned run average. He lasted four innings and allowed five runs on six hits.

After two perfect innings, Martin walked Jarren Duran leading off the third. You wouldn’t expect the No. 8 hitter to lay down a sacrifice bunt to get to Tsung-Che Cheng, who was playing in his 10th major league game.

But that’s what Narváez decided to do on his own. Cheng then lined the second pitch he saw into center field for his third career RBI.

“I liked it,” Tracy said. “Really good baseball.”

Cheng took second on the throw to the plate and third on a passed ball.

Seigler drew a walk. Ceddanne Rafaela followed with an RBI double to center field. Seigler then scored on a wild pitch when he was injured.

The Red Sox scored two more runs in the fourth inning on singles by Masataka Yoshida, Caleb Durbin, Narváez, and Cheng.

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Cheng was 2 for 3 with a walk, a run scored, and two RBIs.