Jarren Duran had himself a night for the Boston Red Sox.
After going 0-for-4 in Game 1 of the doubleheader against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on Saturday, Duran had a historic all-around performance for Boston to help end the Red Sox’s three-game losing skid.
Duran struck out in his first plate appearance, but it didn’t take long for the speedy outfielder to get back on track and then some.
It started with his bat when he roped an RBI triple into the left-field corner, and it ended with his legs when he pulled off a straight steal of home against Cleveland starter Doug Nikhazy.
After Boston’s 7-3 win, Duran told NESN’s Jahmai Webster that he and third base coach Kyle Hudson noticed Nikhazy was pitching from the windup with the runner on third, so they decided Duran should attempt the streal on the next pitch before the rookie had a chance to adjust the stretch.
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“I knew I had it,” Duran said on NESN’s postgame coverage. “When it went to review, I didn’t think they were going to overturn it because the way I slid and the way I got in, I knew I had it for sure.”
Aside from creating an iconic moment in Red Sox history, Duran admitted the stolen base will hopefully stop him from getting chirped in the dugout.
“I still get talked smack on for not stealing home in Seattle when I was all the way down the line last year,” he said. “So, hopefully, I just made up for it all.”
Duran finished the back half of the doubleheader 3-for-5 with two RBIs and three runs. He became the first Red Sox batter with a triple, two RBIs, and three runs in a single game since Johnny Damon achieved the feat on April 21, 2002, according to Underdog Fantasy’s Justin Havens.
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Here are more notes from the second game of the Red Sox-Guardians doubleheader:
— Walker Buehler earned his fourth win of the season with a solid night on the mound for Boston. He threw 68.9% of his pitches for strikes (60-of-87), striking out three. He surrendered three runs on seven hits across six innings.
— Trevor Story snapped his 0-for-17 slump at the plate with an RBI single in the first inning to open the scoring for the Red Sox. He finished 1-for-4 from the plate with a walk.
— After hitting his first home run on the road in the first game, Rafael Devers added two hits, an RBI and scored two runs in the second game.
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— Brayan Bello will get the ball for Boston in Sunday’s series finale against Cleveland’s Logan Allen. First pitch from Progressive Field is scheduled for 1:40 p.m. ET, and you can get full coverage on NESN.
