Red Sox

Duran highlighted a big inning for the Red Sox on Wednesday.

Jarren Duran
Boston Red Sox's Jarren Duran celebrates after scoring on his RBI triple and an error by the Toronto Blue Jays. AP Photo/Charles Krupa

Jarren Duran crossed home plate after ripping a line drive to center on Wednesday against the Blue Jays, but the Red Sox’s prospect was credited with a triple and an error instead of an inside-the-park homer.

Duran’s line drive found its way into the gap in center, and George Springer bobbled it slightly. When Springer finally got the ball to relay man Bo Bichette, Duran was rounding third. The play at the plate was close, but Reese McGuire couldn’t hang on to the throw and Duran slid across the plate safely to give the Red Sox a 4-1 lead, which they would not relinquish.

“As soon as I got to 3rd, [Red Sox third-base coach Carlos Febles] started waving me, and I was like, ‘I’m absolutely gassed,'” Duran said after the game, smiling. “I was just hoping I could make it to home without falling.”

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Duran hopped up with a yell and flexed as the crowd exploded.

“I was pumped,” Duran said. “I felt like I helped the team do something. It’s always a good moment to contribute to this amazing offense. I was pumped. Maybe a little too excited, but it happens.”

The NESN broadcast speculated that scorers might take a second look at the play and could change it to an inside-the-park homer, but neither Alex Cora nor Duran seemed concerned with the scoring. Cora noted that he isn’t a scorekeeper, and Duran said he would take a triple.

“I guess my laundry cart ride doesn’t become official until I hit a real home run,” Duran quipped.

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Duran is batting .154/.214/.308 with the Red Sox since he was called up from the Worcester Red Sox, but he now has a homer, a double and a triple.

“It’s fun and it’s hard at the same time,” Duran said, when asked about adjusting to major-league pitching. “It’s a mental toll, but it’s fun to know you can come in each day and get better. You get to take it out into the game and see what you do and if it doesn’t work, then you go back to the drawing board and keep working. It’s a process — baseball is a big process game. They adjust to me, then I have to adjust to them. It’s a big game of cat and mouse.”

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Cora said the Red Sox like how Duran puts pressure on opponents with his speed.

“He’s a game-changer,” Cora said. “His speed changes the game. That’s what we’re looking for. It’s a weapon, and it was fun to watch him run the bases.”

The Red Sox split their double-header, falling 4-1 in the first contest.