BOSTON — While preparing for Friday’s matchup against old friend Chris Sale, Red Sox manager Alex Cora was watching Jarren Duran’s at-bats from last season against the left-hander when he came to a realization.
Watching some Duran vs. Sale battles from Boston’s May 8 loss to Sale and Braves just over a year ago, Cora took notice of Duran’s underwhelming stat line at that point in time. Entering that game at Truist Park, Duran was hitting just .267 with one homer, 15 RBIs, 14 other extra-base hits and a .759 OPS. Good, sure, but rather pedestrian in the big picture.
This season, Duran has not come close to the offensive performance that led to his first career All-Star appearance and an 8.7 bWAR season in 2024. But as Cora noted, his offensive numbers to this point — a .259 average with two homers, 23 doubles, 15 other extra-base hits and a .697 OPS entering Saturday — aren’t all that dissimilar from a year ago.
“We were like, ‘Oh, he’s actually doing better this year,’” quipped Cora. “There’s a lot of noise about him struggling. Well, he’s actually off to a better start than last year. We’ve just got to keep going, keep working, keep getting better, being more selective.”
The hope, is, then, that Duran will take off in the same way as he did in 2024, when he hit .303 with 20 homers, 35 doubles, seven triples and a .924 OPS in a 98-game stretch between facing Sale and Sept. 1, when a month of struggles started. Saturday was a good sign.
With the Red Sox trailing, 5-0, Duran spurred a successful comeback bid when he smoked a two-run homer off Braves starter Grant Holmes in the third. In the sixth, with the Sox down four, he contributed on the defensive side when he gunned down Alex Verdugo at the plate for the final out of the inning. In the eighth, with two men in scoring position and two outs after an Abraham Toro double and Carlos Narváez single, Duran laced a two-run base hit through the right side to tie the game.
“The game-tying, two-run single was more important than the homer so I was more ecstatic about that one,” he said.
It was fitting then, that Duran, after matching a career high in RBIs (4), wore Boston’s celebratory Wally head when Rafael Devers crossed home plate after capping off the most dramatic Red Sox win of the season with a no-doubt walk-off homer in the ninth.
“We’ve been pretty resilient all year, having games like that and coming up short,” said Duran. “But today was our night and it’s always a good feeling to have one of those nights.”
Reflecting on his breakout game, Duran, too, pointed to the iPad conversation with Cora as a reminder of what’s possible. A year ago, he was not firing on all cylinders when a May date with Sale approached. Then, things changed. The remembrance inspired confidence in the speedster, who acknowledged that self-doubt had once again creeped into his mind during a stretch in which he hit just .190 with three extra-base hits and 18 strikeouts in a 59-plate appearance stretch to start May.
“It’s things like that,” Duran said. “You look at all of last year like, ‘Why aren’t I doing that?’ But you don’t make or break a season in one series. It’s a long season, and I’m terrible at realizing that. I’m always thinking, ‘I was good last year and right now, I’m terrible.’ When you really break it down, it’s about the same. My numbers are scary similar and it’s kinda weird.”
If it seems like Duran is striking out a lot this year, think about this: His first-inning K was his 48th of 2025, in 213 plate appearances. His 48th punch-out last season came in… his 214th plate appearance.
“We get caught up in the whole thing and then you see that and are like, ‘Oh, shoot, it’s not that bad,’” Cora said.
“The at-bats have been better…,” Cora added. “Lately, he has been able to stay back on off-speed pitches. He’s still chasing pitches up in the zone. He’s getting to the point where I truly believe he’s gonna take off.”
The Red Sox and Duran can only hope back-to-back two-hit nights, including a heroic one Saturday, can help push Duran into a second straight summer of pure dominance.
“I’m just trying to keep it simple and have some fun,” Duran said. “I wasn’t having fun, I was putting too much pressure on myself but I’ve got to focus on the boys.”
