Boston Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran has showcased his speed on numerous occasions over his young MLB career, but nothing quite like Saturday night against the Cleveland Guardians.
He did something no Red Sox player has done in 16 years. In fact, it was the exact same date that Jacoby Ellsbury did it to the New York Yankees.
Duran had a clean steal-home against Guardians pitcher Doug Nikhazy in Boston’s 7-3 victory in the second game of the doubleheader on Saturday night in Cleveland.
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The speedster was dancing off third base, and Nikhazy, a lefty, couldn’t really see just how far Duran was down the line, due to his back being turned toward the bag.
Duran took full advantage of getting off the base, but when he was basically halfway down the line, he put his head down and started sprinting home. Nikhazy quickly lifted his leg and fired a pitch, but catcher Bo Naylor couldn’t get the tag down before Duran’s right hand crossed home plate.
“(Third base coach Kyle Hudson) heard him tell the umpire that he was working from the stretch, so I decided I was going to go on the first pitch,” Duran said when asked why he had stolen home. “It was just to keep the offense going and cause a little chaos. I knew I had it.”
Red Sox manager Alex Cora added, “Under the new rules, he’s kind of the perfect player. We saw a window there, and he took advantage of the situation.”
One of the new rules Cora refers to here is the catcher not being allowed to block the plate with his body, which allowed Duran to dive head-first into home.
It wasn’t the first time Duran has attempted to do this. Last season alone, he tried twice, once against the Tampa Bay Rays on May 21, and the other against the Chicago White Sox on June 7.
He scored on both attempts, but they were also double steals, meaning another Red Sox player was swiping second, allowing him to head home.
This, however, was a straight steal-home, and Rafael Devers, who was in the batter’s box at the time, was jumping up and down when the home plate umpire called Duran safe.
“It was really a cool play and a cool sequence of events there,” pitcher Walker Buehler said. “He’s one of the most exciting players in baseball. After watching him from afar, it’s been fun to see him up close this season.”
Even Guardians manager Stephen Vogt had to tip his cap to Duran, who he said had made “a heads-up baseball play” after noticing that his third baseman, Jose Ramirez, wasn’t anywhere near third base to keep Duran close.
Nikhazy could have stepped off the rubber and fired the ball home instead of going through his usual delivery from the stretch – something that he regrets in hindsight.
“He had taken a big jump, and he took off immediately,” Nikhazy said. “in the moment, I chose to make the pitch as opposed to stepping off. Ultimately, when I saw him, I should have stepped off.”
Duran, the 25-year-old first-time All-Star last season, is enjoying a solid start to his 2025 campaign, as he leads the league with nine stolen bases and three triples. He’s slashing .256/.316/.388 with a .704 OPS over 28 games thus far.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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