SEATTLE — The Red Sox are making a habit of hitting game-winning home runs in the ninth inning. It was Mookie Betts who delivered on Monday night, his shot to left field leading off the inning giving the Red Sox a 2-1 victory against the Seattle Mariners before a crowd of 29,601 at Safeco Field.
Betts’s homer came a day after Dustin Pedroia’s three-run blast beat the Los Angeles Angels. The Sox have won three of four and moved into second place in the division, a game behind Baltimore.
The Red Sox will also make a significant roster move Tuesday, promoting outfielder Andrew Benintendi to the majors from Double A Portland. Benintendi, 22, has played only 151 games in the minors but is considered one of the game’s top prospects. He was hitting .295 with an .872 OPS, eight home runs, and 44 RBIs in 63 games for Portland. Benintendi was the seventh overall pick of the 2015 draft out of the University of Arkansas.
With Chris Young on the disabled list, the Red Sox have been using a platoon of Brock Holt and Bryce Brentz in left field and getting little production.
Benintendi has been a center fielder throughout his career, but has played four games in left field in recent weeks.
He joins a Red Sox team that is starting to play well again.
Eduardo Rodriguez allowed one run over 6⅓ innings before three relievers held the Mariners scoreless. Robbie Ross Jr. left the bases loaded in the seventh inning. Junichi Tazawa (2-1) was the winner and the save went to Craig Kimbrel, his 18th.
Kimbrel was activated off the disabled list earlier in the day and was pitching for the first time since July 6. He put two runners on base before getting the final out with a strikeout of Shawn O’Malley. Kimbrel was tested in his return, throwing 24 pitches.
The Sox had only five hits off James Paxton and two relievers. Betts connected off Steve Cishek (2-6), taking a hanging slider to left field. It was his 22d of the season.
Paxton retired the first seven Red Sox in order until Sandy Leon singled to right field. But the third inning quickly ended when Brentz grounded up the middle and O’Malley stepped on second to start a double play.
Hanley Ramirez singled with one out in the fifth inning but Jackie Bradley Jr. was called out on strikes and Aaron Hill flied out to center field.
The Sox got a runner in scoring position with two outs in the sixth inning when Betts doubled down the line in left field. Pedroia took a strike then grounded to shortstop.
The Red Sox tied the game in the top of the eighth inning when Aaron Hill hit his first homer for the Red Sox, a line drive that just cleared the fence in left field.
Rodriguez was even more impressive in the early innings.
He retired the first six batters he saw, three by strikeout, before Franklin Gutierrez walked to start the bottom of the third inning.
Rodriguez struck out Chris Iannetta, then started a double play by catching a line drive off the bat of O’Malley.
Gutierrez was on his way to second base and easily doubled off. Rodriguez caught the ball purely in self-defense and was smiling at his good fortune as he came off the field.
Robinson Cano had the first hit for the Mariners when he singled to right field with two outs in the fourth inning, the ball just getting past a diving Pedroia.
Rodriguez needed three pitches to get Nelson Cruz on a fly ball to right field.
Cano doubled to right center with one out in the seventh inning before Cruz walked. Dae-Ho Lee lined the next pitch from Rodriguez to center field for an RBI double.
With Rodriguez at 101 pitches, Red Sox manager John Farrell called in Ross.
He hit lefthanded-hitting Kyle Seager with his first pitch, a curveball, to load the bases. But he ended the jam by striking out Gutierrez and Iannetta.
Since being recalled July 16, Rodriguez had started four games and allowed seven earned runs over 24 innings.
Peter Abraham can be reached at pabraham@globe.com.
