Jarren Duran provided the Boston Red Sox with an electric moment that they desperately needed.
After back-to-back losses to begin a weekend series against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Duran delivered a three-run, inside-the-park home run in the fifth inning to break a 1-1 tie and lead Boston to a 5-2 Sunday win.
The Red Sox now aim to stay on the right track as they begin a three-game set against the Cleveland Guardians on Monday afternoon.
“I feel like, through that skid, we were hitting balls really hard. That’s baseball,” Duran said. “At the end of the day, you can hit the ball hard and still get out. Those first two games (of the weekend series) don’t define us. We’re just going to keep rolling and keep doing our thing.”
Boston has won five of its last seven and owns the American League’s best record (34-18) since July 1, but entered Sunday having scored no more than three runs during any of its five straight home losses.
Manager Alex Cora knows the importance of Duran’s exciting play.
“We needed that. I think, offensively, the last week has been a grind — slumping, missing (Wilyer Abreu),” Cora said. “It gave us energy.”
Sunday ended with the Red Sox signing closer Aroldis Chapman to a one-year contract extension for the 2026 season with a mutual option for another year. The deal was reported late Saturday night.
Chapman is in the midst of a dominant stretch, as Sunday marked his 27th save of the season and 15th straight hitless appearance.
Brayan Bello (10-6, 2.99 ERA) will take the mound Monday, aiming to help the Red Sox maintain their energy as September begins.
After winning back-to-back starts and four of his last five outings, Bello threw 6 2/3 innings, allowing two runs (one earned) in a no-decision on Wednesday against the Baltimore Orioles. The 26-year-old is 1-0 with a 3.27 ERA in two career starts against Cleveland.
The Guardians have been inconsistent lately. Their 2-0 Sunday loss to the Seattle Mariners ended a four-game winning streak, which came right after a six-game losing streak.
A double by Steven Kwan and a two-run homer from Daniel Schneemann provided all of the Guardians’ offense on Sunday, who are now four games behind Seattle for the third and final AL Wild Card spot. Boston is only half a game behind the New York Yankees at the top of that race.
“We have to get more than two hits to win a game,” Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said. “We battled. I thought our at-bats were okay. I thought we followed the plan pretty well. … We hit some balls really hard at people. We just gotta get more hits.”
Cleveland lefty Parker Messick (1-0, 0.66 ERA) is only the second pitcher in MLB history to begin his career with consecutive outings of at least six strikeouts, one or zero runs allowed and one or zero walks allowed. He has allowed just one run over 13 2/3 innings.
The 24-year-old Florida State product earned his first win Tuesday against the Tampa Bay Rays, pitching seven shutout, four-hit innings with six strikeouts.
“He’s got everything he needs,” catcher Bo Naylor said. “He goes out there with the right head on his shoulders, the right mentality, not letting any moment get too big and…throws strikes, pounds the zone. He knows that when he has the opportunity to expand, he takes advantage of it. His pitches, they feel so elite.”
–Field Level Media
