Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran was having a moment when Willson Contreras didn’t tag up from third base.
Duran was irate when he hit a shallow fly ball to left field with the Red Sox locked in a tie in the sixth inning against the A’s in an eventual 5-4 Boston win.
Contreras singled to start the inning, followed by a Masataka Yoshida single and a Caleb Durbin sacrifice bunt to put runners on second and third, when Duran came to bat and hit a 245-foot fly ball.
“Run!” Duran could be seen screaming from the dugout as Contreras held at third base.
Contreras did not score in the inning, though the Red Sox would win thanks to back-to-back eighth-inning home runs by Wilyer Abreu and Contreras.
Duran acknowledged after the game that it is to judge balls at Sutter Health Park — the minor league field in Sacramento the A’s are occupying in between their move from Oakland to Las Vegas.
“It’s a tough park to play at,” Duran said. “It’s kind of tough to see.”
Duran then added that things like this happen regularly on the team and reporters don’t need to know about that stuff.
“That’s nothing,” Duran said. “It’s something that, within the team, that we have, that we work on, and it’s nothing. Like, you guys don’t need to know. Nobody needs to know. … So, that doesn’t really matter.”
Contreras said he was confused why Duran was yelling at him to run, with many onlookers believing that the not-so-fleet-footed first baseman would have been thrown out by the A’s left fielder Tyler Soderstrom.
“I wasn’t sure. I mean, I love Jarren. He’s one of the guys that plays with emotion, plays 100%,” Contreras told reporters. “We love him here. And he’s one of the guys that if I need to go to war, I’m gonna pick him because he’s gonna give his 100%. I saw him doing some stuff. I would never take that personal. I love the guy, and we need the guy here. We need his energy. And I don’t know. I haven’t talked to him yet, but it’s nothing personal.”
Duran has been in the middle of the worst season of his MLB career, hitting just .195, and has been floated in trade rumors for the better part of two years.
As the MLB trade teadline rapidly comes into focus between now and Monday, Duran’s name will surely be discussed as the Red Sox continue to surge in July.
Boston is an insane 19-4 this month and is now firmly a buyer at the trade deadline, already trading lefty starter Connelly Early to the Nationals for infielder Curtis Mead, who immediately went down with a long-term injury.
