Former Razorback All-American cranks two 'Benny Bombs' on hot streak for Sox

The White Sox left fielder added an RBI single to give the White Sox the lead 4-3 in the sixth inning and capped the night by breaking open the contest with a three-run bomb in the eighth.

The second homer traveled 406 feet into the second deck with an exit velocity of 104 on an 0-1 sweeper from pitcher Noah Davis.

When Benintendi's bat met horsehide, Davis dejectedly dropped his head immediately, knowing the ball would end up in the cheap seats as a souvenir for some lucky fan.

That was Benintendi's 17th home run of the season in 104 games. He's hitting .245 with 54 RBIs and 53 runs scored and boasts an OPS of .735, above the MLB average of .700.

When he starred for coach Dave Van Horn's Razorbacks in 2015, it didn't much matter how opponents pitched to Benintendi.

The athletic lefty put together a season for the ages with an amazing slash line (average, on-base, slugging, on-base plus slugging) of .376/.488/.717/1.205. He had 20 home runs, 57 RBIs, 62 runs, 50 walks and stole 24-of-28 bases.

All those numbers, plus stellar defense in center field, earned Benintendi the Golden Spikes Award, known as the baseball equivalent of college football's Heisman Trophy.

He was the seventh overall pick in the 2015 draft, taken by the Boston Red Sox. He was in the big leagues by the next season and homered in the 2016 playoffs.

He enjoyed a superb 2017 season while finishing second to Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees for American League Rookie of the Year.

Benintendi would've won in almost any other season as he had 20 homers, 90 RBIs, 84 runs, 70 walks, 26 doubles and stole 20-of-25 bases. His slash line was .271/.352/.424/.776.

In his first two-plus seasons, Benintendi played in five postseason series with the Red Sox, three when they won the 2018 World Series. In 21 postseason games, he hit .272 with an OPS of .729, two homers, nine RBIs, 18 runs and two steals.

He even saved the Red Sox from going into extra innings, or losing in the ninth, when he beat the odds to make a sensational game-ending catch to beat the Houston Astros.

He appeared headed for stardom, but has been little more than a solid, if unspectacular, starting outfielder the last eight years.

But there are still moments when he's spectacular and plays to All-Star caliber. At 31, the 5-foot-10, 185-pounder looks to be a key component of the White Sox rebuilding process that has brought several rising stars to the big leagues.

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