Jarren Duran is the Red Sox’s rising star.
The Boston Red Sox have quietly remained in the American League playoff chase this season, and they are playing their best baseball at the halfway point. A few Red Sox players deserved to be in the MLB All-Star Game, and the team sent three players to the Midsummer Classic. Two of them were involved in the exhibition’s most memorable moments, as the AL squad won 5-3 on Tuesday night.
After Red Sox starter Tanner Houck let up a three-run homer to Shohei Ohtani in the third inning, the American League replied with five consecutive runs. The AL scored three runs in the bottom of the third and took the lead for good in the fifth when Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran hit a 413-foot two-run missile to right center off Cincinnati Reds pitcher Hunter Greene.
Duran performed an incredible bat flip and motioned to the AL dugout on the first base side of the field at Globe Life Park before beginning his jog around the bases. He’d be the final one to touch home plate.
“That’s probably the first pitch I’ve ever pimped in my life,” Duran stated after receiving his All-Star Game MVP honor. He is the fifth Red Sox player to earn the MLB All-Star Game MVP award, and the first since J.D. Drew in 2008. The list contains Hall of Famers Pedro Martinez and Carl Yastrzemski, as well as Roger Clemens.
“I didn’t think about that. “That’s a great list of names to be a part of,” Duran told Jake Rill. “I think I’m just grateful to have the opportunity to play in the All-Star Game for the Red Sox and represent them well. It’s just — I’m not sure; it’s a surreal time. So I am just grateful to be here.”
Jarren Duran, Red Sox aren’t quiet anymore
Even with their current standing, it is difficult to persuade some fans that the Red Sox are legitimate playoff candidates. Boston’s top-five pitching staff is due to regress, and the offense has struggled multiple times this season. The Sox also have the most errors in the league, despite recent improvements in their defense.
It’s difficult to dismiss the last month, as the Red Sox have probably been the greatest club in baseball since mid-June. Boston is 20-8 since June 12. During that time, the Sox improved by 9 1/2 games in the AL East standings, moving from 14 games back to 4 1/2 games out of first place.
Boston is now squarely in the AL playoff picture after previously being on the outside looking in. It has a two-game lead for the final wild card slot coming out of the All-Star break, but those standings are expected to change during the next ten weeks.
The Red Sox cannot be ignored any longer. They face a big assignment in reclaiming the AL East from the Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees, but Boston has 14 games versus those teams. Making the playoffs is the priority, but the division is there for grabs if the Sox are up to the challenge.
They are more than simply Rafael Devers. Jarren Duran helped to demonstrate this on Tuesday. The 27-year-old outfielder for the Boston Red Sox is a rising talent.
“I’m just very thankful,” Duran added. “It’s difficult to put into words.” It will not hit me until I try to fall asleep tonight. “Who knows if I’ll be able to sleep tonight?”
Duran will sleep well for the next few days knowing that he was briefly at the center of the baseball world on Tuesday night. He’ll take pride in being named MLB All-Star Game MVP.
