Benintendi’s catch helps Price, Red Sox tie for 1st place

Boston Red Sox left fielder Andrew Benintendi (40) goes over the wall and comes up with the catch on the fly ball by Tampa Bay Rays right fielder Steven Souza Jr. (20) in the eighth inning of a baseball game, Monday, Aug. 22, 2016, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (Will Vragovic/Tampa Bay Times via AP) Boston Red Sox left fielder Andrew Benintendi (40) goes over the wall and comes up with the catch on the fly ball by Tampa Bay Rays right fielder Steven Souza Jr. (20) in the eighth inning of a baseball game, Monday, Aug. 22, 2016, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (Will Vragovic/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

By Associated Press August 22, 2016 5 min read

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) – David Price was good, even better because of a rookie’s nifty glove work.

Boston’s ace won his third straight decision Monday night, beating the Tampa Bay Rays 6-2 with a huge assist from Andrew Benintendi’s home run-robbing catch that helped Price limit his old team to just two hits over eight scoreless innings.

Price (12-8) walked two, struck out eight and didn’t allow a runner past first base in helping the Red Sox win for the ninth time in 11 games and nudge into in a tie for first place in the AL East with Toronto.

Benintendi drove in a run with a fourth-inning sacrifice fly, then kept Price’s bid for a shutout alive by denying Steven Souza Jr. what would have been a two-run homer with an eighth-inning catch that nearly sent him tumbling over a short wall in the left-field corner.

“That’s a highlight-reel play at a pivotal time in the game,” Boston manager John Farrell said. “David was outstanding. But in a three-run game, that late, take away a two-run homer, it’s a huge difference in the ball game.”