BOSTON — Jarren Duran was in the bathroom when Rafael Devers led off the bottom of the ninth inning with a 402-foot, 107.3 mph walkoff home run into the Red Sox‘ bullpen.
Boston rallied from five runs behind to win 7-6 over the Braves here at Fenway Park on Saturday.
“I heard people going crazy so I had to wash my hands, run back up there and grab the Wally head for him,” Duran said.
Red Sox players celebrate home runs this year by putting a Wally the Green Monster head on whoever goes deep. The celebration had always taken place in the dugout. But with Devers blasting Boston’s first walkoff home run this season, Duran had to improvise.
“I brought the Wally head out hoping I’d get it on him,” Duran said. “But things were going too crazy. I ended up wearing it during the celebration.”
It was Devers’ first career major league walkoff home run.
“That’s crazy,” Duran said. “Hopefully many more to come for him.”
Devers said he doesn’t even remember hitting one in the minors.
“Obviously very excited,” Devers said through translator Carlos Villoria Benítez. “For us to be able to come back and win this type of game means a lot.”
Devers was at the plate when Duran got thrown out trying to steal second base to end the eighth. Duran had just ripped a curveball from Braves righty Pierce Johnson into right field for a game-tying two-run single.
“I went down to the tunnel to do my routine,” Devers said. “I saw how he pitched to Duran. I know his good pitch is his (curveball) and I was ready for it.”
Johnson has thrown his curveball 70.5% this season. Opponents entered Saturday just 8-for-46 (.174 batting average) with no home runs against it.
“The matchup we liked,” manager Alex Cora said. “He (Johnson) spins the ball a lot.”
Johnson left one right down the middle of the plate and Devers didn’t miss.
“It’s very exciting to see a game like this,” Devers said. “Everybody’s competing every at-bat. To be able to come back and win a game like this is obviously a huge boost to our confidence.”
Duran joked, “Maybe every time he comes up in a situation like that I might have to go down to the bathroom and bring some good luck.”
It has been an eventful past nine days for Devers — beginning last Thursday when he publicly expressed his frustration over chief baseball officer Craig Breslow approaching him about playing first base following Triston Casas’ season-ending injury.
Devers felt the Red Sox were not staying true to their word after they had moved him from third base to full-time DH during spring training.
Principal owner John Henry ended up flying to Kansas City to meet with the fuming Devers before Boston’s game against the Royals last Friday. Since then, the slugger has gone 13-for-31 (.419) with two home runs, two doubles and nine RBIs.
Devers didn’t want to say much about this past week.
“That already happened,” Devers said.
The slugger began the season 0-for-19 with 15 strikeouts. But he’s now batting .284 with a .402 on-base percentage, .494 slugging percentage, .896 OPS, eight homers, 13 doubles and 34 RBIs in 47 games (214 plate appearances). He also has an elite 16.4% walk percentage, which ranks in the 97th percentile among major league hitters.
“I feel very comfortable right now,” Devers said. “I have my routine. I go out there every day and do my routine to get ready and I feel very comfortable as a DH.”
Cora added, “The big boy got a pitch he was able to handle and he put a great swing on it. He’s been swinging the bat well, taking his walks. That first weekend, whoever has an explanation of what happened there, just give me a call and explain it because it was hard to see it. And then it just changed. He’s been really good.”
