Looking for a big hit on Tuesday night, the Boston Red Sox got it from a surprise source. Tied 3-3 in the top of the 11th in South Florida against the Miami Marlins, Jarren Duran stepped to the plate and delivered a big blow.
The struggling outfielder launched a grand slam into the seats in right field for a 7-3 win to extend the Red Sox winning streak to five games. It was Duran’s second career grand slam, and his 17 RBIs in the ninth inning or later this season lead MLB. Hitless in his previous four at-bats, he knew he needed to come up clutch for his teammates.
“I just gotta do something for the team, which makes it so much easier for me,” Duran said, per Perla Paredes of MLB.com. “It’s like, ‘All right, I just have to do the job.’ Whereas like earlier in the game, I’m like, ‘I have to get a hit here, like, I have to get on base.’’
The win was big in several ways for Boston and interim manager Chad Tracy, who knew someone needed to come up big.
Boston Red Sox Interim Manager Chad Tracy Praises Club for 11-Inning Win
Boston’s win improved them to 73-59 and 63-42 under Tracy. Since their torrid stretch began in early July, the Red Sox have gone from the basement of the American League standings to the second wild-card spot. After the Houston Astros 9-7 win over the New York Yankees, Boston is just 1.5 games behind their heated rivals for the first wild-card spot and home-field advantage in that round.
What isn’t surprising to Tracy is that his club continues to find different ways to win games.
“They’ve been doing that for a while now. It’s almost become — at least for them, for us — almost an expectation,” said Tracy, per Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe.
“Regardless of what happens, if something crazy goes against us and it’s demoralizing, they’re just going to keep fighting. I applaud them for that. I think that’s just kind of the character of the team now, and it’s what we expect.”
It seems like it’s someone different every night. The only reason why they were in that position was because of two Mickey Gaspar solo home runs in the second and fifth innings. Some bad Marlins base running also helped throughout the game.
Boston Red Sox Go for Sweep Ahead of Yankees Series
The Red Sox will go for the sweep on Wednesday night with Sonny Gray getting the ball against Miami’s Ryan Gusto. Gray is 16-3 with a 2.79 ERA, but this start will take him out of the series in the Bronx over the weekend.
The pivotal four-game series over three days begins Friday night and includes a day/night doubleheader on Saturday before the series ends on Sunday afternoon. This series will determine the season series winner, which could be a huge tiebreaker at the end of the season.
Winners of eight of their last 10 games, Boston is just five games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the AL East.
Red Sox Interim Manager Chad Tracy Praises Club After Win Over Marlins