This story was excerpted from Ian Browne’s Red Sox Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
BOSTON -- At some point, the Red Sox are sure the clouds will lift from what has been a thoroughly frustrating (9-15) start to the season.
And even though Wednesday marked another loss -- 4-1 to the Yankees -- there was an encouraging development.
Jarren Duran started hitting again.
Given Duran’s speed and aggressive style of play, he is probably the player most capable of energizing a slumping offense.
A day after getting a rare night off against a righty starter in Luis Gil, the left-handed-hitting Duran was in there against Yankees ace Max Fried. Perhaps that wouldn’t have been the case if Roman Anthony was in the lineup, but he was scratched with back tightness.
Duran took advantage of his opportunity by hammering a pair of opposite-field doubles against the nasty lefty and added an RBI single in the ninth against another southpaw in Brent Headrick.
“One hundred percent, yeah, that was good,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “He stayed on pitches against lefties, hit the ball hard the other way. That was a good sign.”
Though he hasn’t been playing as much as he’s accustomed to due to Boston’s outfield/designated hitter logjam, and his slow start at the plate, Duran has been working tirelessly behind the scenes with the team’s hitting group.
What was noticeable on Wednesday was Duran shedding his dramatic leg kick and going back to the toe tap in an effort to simplify things.
“It’s just something that's always been there,” said Duran. “It's just in the toolbox if I ever am struggling, I can always go back to the toe tap. And that's always been something that I've been able to go to when I'm struggling and I'm just trying to simplify things. I know that leg kick can get [to be] a lot. And in ‘24, it was really clicking.
“But that's the worst part about baseball, is it could feel good one day and then terrible the next day. So I'm just trying to keep everything simple right now, and it worked today. So I'm just going to keep grinding on it.”
In 19 games and 79 plate appearances, Duran has a slash line of .194/.266/.306 with five doubles, one homer, 11 RBIs and three stolen bases. He has 22 strikeouts compared to just six walks.
Just two seasons ago, Duran started 160 games. Last season, he appeared in all but five games. Duran already has five games this season he didn’t appear in. But you won’t hear him complaining.
“No, if I play 160 games or I play 50 games, whatever the team needs, I'm going to do,” said Duran. “I trust AC, I trust what they're doing, and if they're going to have me come in and pinch hit and do that, I'm gonna do it to the best of my ability.
“I've never been a guy that's going to complain if I'm playing or not, and I never will be, because I know how hard this game is, and I know how hard guys work to start. And if they're playing great, let's ride with them. And if I'm not, get me out of there. I know my role and I'm always going to be ready for the team.”
He did concede that finding a rhythm is more challenging when you’re not in the lineup every day.
“I mean, yeah, that's always tough, not seeing live pitching every day,” said Duran. “But I put in the work every single day. I get here early to put in the work. And I trust the work that I'm putting in to make sure I'm staying in rhythm.”
Duran also has full confidence the Red Sox will find their rhythm, as tough as things have been out of the gate.
“We're not really in a hole, it's still early,” Duran said. “We still have so much time to just play baseball. And I feel like that's when we're at our best, when we're just playing. So we are really young and it's just getting through those bumps and bruises. I remember I took my bumps and bruises coming up playing in the big leagues.
“We’ve got some young guys that are here for the first time. And it's just one of those things. It's just baseball. We're going to get through it together. And I have complete faith in this team. I mean, we've shown a lot of life before and I know we can do it again.”