Benintendi homers twice, drives in five

Andrew Benintendi has been raking throughout July but he saved his best performance for the final day of the month.

The second-ranked Red Sox prospect went 4-for-5 with a pair of homers, two doubles and a career-high five RBIs on Sunday afternoon to lead Double-A Portland to an 8-1 win over Binghamton at NYSEG Stadium.

Benintendi extended his hitting streak to six games with a two-run shot to right-center field in the first inning. In his next trip to the plate in the third, he laced a double to left on the heels of a two-run homer by Red Sox No. 12 prospect Mauricio Dubon in the third.

The 22-year-old outfielder followed with a two-run blast to right in the fourth and capped his day with an RBI double to right in the sixth. It was his first four-hit performance since June 8 for Benintendi, who eclipsed his personal best of four RBIs, set in back-to-back games for Class A Advanced Salem on April 28-29.

In 24 games this month, the seventh overall pick in last year's Draft batted .329/.406/.635 with four homers and 20 RBIs. Since the Eastern League All-Star Break, he's posted a .317/.388/.567 slash line.

Benintendi's two homers and second double all plated Yoan Moncada, MLB.com's No. 2 overall prospect, who went 3-for-4 and finished a homer from the cycle with a walk and four runs scored

Moncada saw similar success this month, batting .307/.408/636 in 23 games out of the leadoff spot. 

"Here's a guy who is hungry; he knows where he's come from," Sea Dogs manager Carlos Febles told MiLB.com earlier this month. "He went through a lot to get here, so he wants to get to the big leagues. He's focused on playing the game and getting better."

Dubon added a single, giving the top three hitters in Febles' order nine of the club's 10 hits.

Staked to a lead before he took the mound, Portland starter Keith Couch (7-4) gave up one run on four hits and four walks with five strikeouts over six innings.