The Boston Red Sox have quietly hung around in the American League playoff race this season and are playing their best baseball at the halfway point. A few Red Sox players were deserving of a spot in the MLB All-Star Game and Boston sent three players to the Midsummer Classic. Two of them were involved in the exhibition's biggest moments as the AL squad secured a 5-3 win Tuesday night.
After Red Sox starting pitcher Tanner Houck allowed a three-run bomb off Shohei Ohtani in the third inning, the American League responded with five unanswered runs. The AL scored three in the bottom of the third, then took the lead for good in the fifth when Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran launched a 413-foot two-run homer to right center off Cincinnati Reds pitcher Hunter Greene.
Duran offered an epic bat flip and gestured to the AL dugout on the first base side of the field at Globe Life Park as he began his trot around the bases. He'd be the last person to touch home plate.
“That’s probably the first pitch I’ve ever pimped in my life,” Duran said upon accepting his All-Star Game MVP award. He is the fifth Red Sox player, the first since J.D. Drew in 2008, to win MLB All-Star Game MVP. That list includes Hall of Famers Pedro Martinez and Carl Yastrzemski plus a guy named Roger Clemens.
“I didn't think about that. That's a great list of names to be a part of,” Duran said, per Jake Rill. “I think I'm just thankful to be able to play in the All-Star Game and for the Red Sox, and to represent them well. It's just — I don't know, it's a surreal moment. So I'm just thankful to be here.”
Jarren Duran, Red Sox aren’t quiet anymore
Even with their current standing, it's hard to convince certain fans that the Red Sox are legit playoff contenders. Boston's top-five pitching staff is due for regression and the offense has gone quiet several times this year. The Sox also lead the league in errors, although the defense has improved recently.
It's hard to ignore the last month though and the Red Sox have arguably been the best team in baseball since mid-June. Boston is 20-8 since June 12. In that span, the Sox gained 9 1/2 games in the AL East standings, going from 14 games back to 4 1/2 games out of first place.
Once on the outside looking in, Boston is firmly in the AL playoff picture. It holds a two-game lead for the final wild card spot coming out of the All-Star break but those standings are sure to shake up over the next 10 weeks.
The Red Sox can’t be ignored anymore. They have a tall order overtaking the AL East from the Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees but Boston has 14 games against those opponents. Making the playoffs is the priority, but the division is there for the taking if the Sox are up for the task.
They are more than just Rafael Devers. Jarren Duran helped prove that on Tuesday. The Red Sox have a star in the making in their 27-year-old outfielder.
“I'm just very thankful,” Duran said. “It's hard to put into words. It won't hit me until I try to go to sleep tonight. Who knows if I'll be able to sleep tonight.”
Duran can sleep in the next few days knowing he was at the center of the baseball world for a moment on Tuesday night. He'll wear the label of MLB All-Star Game MVP proudly.
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