The Boston Red Sox extended their winning streak to five games on Monday with a 5-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels at Fenway Park. The win pushed Boston to 80-65. For the first time this season, the Red Sox sit 15 games above .500 and now trail the New York Yankees by just two games for the top American League wild-card spot.
Jarren Duran helped set the tone. He went 2 for 4 with a solo home run and a double, his first multi-extra-base-hit game since May 20. After the game, he opened up about what the past few days have meant.
It started with a haircut. It ended with a reminder that the player the Red Sox need for October is still right there.
Red Sox Teammates Gave Duran a Push
The weekend in Baltimore brought two interventions from the people closest to Duran.
The first was lighter. Before Sunday’s game, reliever Greg Weissert and outfielders Eli White and Wilyer Abreu convinced Duran to chop the signature long hair that had been part of his look for the past two seasons.
“They kind of cornered me and said, ‘Hey, man, you’ve got to change it up. Let’s cut your hair,'” Duran said. “Peer pressure was strong with those ones. They trapped me and got me.”
Before Monday’s game at Fenway, he took it further and dyed what was left blond. The new look gave him something to smile about.
“It was kind of nice to worry about people seeing my hair more than the game today,” Duran said.
The second conversation was more direct. Trevor Story, whose locker has been next to Duran’s for years, has long been a steady voice when the self-criticism gets heavy. But during a tough stretch to open September, Story decided he had heard enough.
“He finally heard it enough in Baltimore,” Duran said. “He’s like, ‘Dude, that’s enough. All this negative self-talk, you’re just making it a reality instead of if I talk positive, then positive outcomes will come.'”
Isiah Kiner-Falefa delivered a similar message, pointing Duran toward what matters most right now.
“He’s like, ‘Let’s just get hot and get you rolling into the playoffs,'” Duran said. “That’s kind of helped me say, ‘Who cares about the numbers this year?'”
Monday Was the Response
Duran’s solo homer in the second inning was his 20th of the season. The double came in the fifth. For a player who has been hard on himself all year, Monday’s game was the kind of reminder that the talent and the impact are still there.
“I’m so hard on myself,” Duran said.
The 2026 numbers have not matched what Duran did during his 2024 All-Star breakout. He knows that. But the production has not disappeared entirely. Chad Tracy sees a player closer to a breakthrough than a breakdown.
“Not every year is going to go exactly how you want it to,” Tracy said. “He’s got a chance at 20/20 and a very legitimate chance with a good couple of weeks of having 80-plus RBI.”
What Duran Still Believes
Even through the frustration, Duran has never lost the belief that a better version of his season is within reach.
“I’ve been so close all year, and I just haven’t been able to click,” Duran said. “It’s just the most frustrating thing, but it’s baseball. I know I can do better than what I’m doing.”
That honesty cuts both ways. He is harder on himself than anyone else would be. But the awareness also means he is not running from what needs to change. He is chasing it every day.
Final Word for the Red Sox
The teammates around Duran would not let him stay in the frustration. Story confronted the negative self-talk head on. Weissert, White, and Abreu gave him a reason to laugh. Kiner-Falefa pointed him toward October.
Monday was one game. But it was the right kind of game at the right time. His 20th homer. A double. A new look. And the words of teammates who believe in what he can still be this season ringing louder than the self-doubt.
The postseason is coming. Duran has every reason to believe he will be a factor in it.
Red Sox Jarren Duran Makes Personal Admission After Angels Game