WEST SACRAMENTO – In the midst of his most frustrating season in years, Red Sox left fielder Jarren Duran had it boil over on him during Thursday’s 5-4 win over the Athletics.
In a tie game with runners at the corners and one out in the top of the sixth, Duran badly wanted to find a way to get the go-ahead run home.
Perhaps he was hoping against hope that his 245-foot fly ball to left was deep enough for Willson Contreras to tag up from third and score.
But Red Sox interim third base coach Chad Epperson wisely held Contreras, who isn’t known for his speed.
As Duran went back to the dugout, he waved his arms toward third and appeared to utter an expletive. He hollered again once he retreated to his bench.
“That's nothing. It's something that, within the team that we have, that we work on. It's nothing. You guys don't need to know,” said Duran. “Nobody needs to know. That's something between us and the team that we know what it's about. So that doesn't really matter.”
Contreras had a look of confusion on his face as Duran hollered and gestured. But the first baseman, who belted the go-ahead homer in the top of the ninth, didn’t take it personally.
“I wasn’t sure [what made Duran upset],” said Contreras. “I mean, I love Jarren. He's one of the guys that plays with emotions. Plays 100 percent. We love him here, and he is one of the guys that if I need to go to war, I'm gonna pick him because he's going to give his 100 percent.
“I saw him doing some stuff, but I would not take that personally. I love the guy, and we need the guy here. We need his energy, and I don't know. I haven't talked to him yet, but it's nothing personal.”
Contreras said he was tempted to tag, but was told not to by Epperson.
“I wanted to, but I followed orders,” said Contreras. “The coach told me no. I was like, ‘OK, cool. It wasn't too deep.’ I wanted to give it a shot, but [Tyler Soderstrom] has a pretty good arm, and I saw his throw, so I was shot down. But yeah, I didn't think it was anything bad at all.”
Did Contreras talk to Duran either during or after the game to figure out what the issue was?
“No, [but] I think I will find a way,” Contreras said. “I’ll find the best moment to talk to him. I know that it could be a mental thing, like it could be something that baseball is taking away from him. But like I said, it's nothing personal. We are a team. We are here [together], and I'm pretty sure that the manager talked to him already. But I love, I love Jarren. He’s the best.”
Interim manager Chad Tracy chose not to go into depth about the issue after the game.
“Just cursing himself for not getting the run in. Just mad at himself. So that was all it was,” said Tracy. “I didn't really venture over there when he was upset to ask. But he was at the bat rack, just upset with himself for not getting the run in.”
For a few moments, the dugout didn’t seem like a safe zone. Per multiple sources, Duran slammed his helmet down and it hit a pipe, forcing a spray of water toward the far end of the dugout.
Duran did acknowledge how frustrated he was not to get the run home.
“Yeah. I [expletive] suck,” said Duran. “Of course I'm [expletive] pissed at myself. I can't even do an [expletive] job for this team.”
Through 101 games this season, Duran has a batting line of .195/.252/.337 with 13 homers and 54 RBIs. He has 28 walks and 125 strikeouts in 429 plate appearances.
Just two seasons ago, Duran was one of the most dynamic players in baseball, winning MVP of the 2024 All-Star Game. That feels like a long time ago. So does last season, when he had a .774 OPS to go with 41 doubles, 13 triples, 16 homers and 24 stolen bases.
“I don't know what to do at this point, honestly. Just kind of ashamed,” said Duran. “But it is what it is.”