Jarren Duran impresses in long-awaited Red Sox debut, records hit in first career at-bat

Jul. 18—After getting his long-awaited call to the majors on Wednesday, Jarren Duran was set to make his Red Sox debut on Thursday before the Yankees' COVID-19 outbreak postponed the game.

Two days later, Duran found himself again in the lineup for his first start. It was worth the wait.

And he didn't take long to make an impact.

His first assignment couldn't have been much harder. Batting sixth as the Red Sox center fielder, Duran went to the plate for his first career at-bat against Yankees ace Gerrit Cole, one of the best pitchers in baseball. But the rookie was not overwhelmed by the moment.

Duran was looking for a first-pitch fastball against the hard-throwing Cole and got a 95 mph heater. He jumped on the first Major League pitch of his career, ripping it to center field for his first career hit. With his family cheering for him in the stands at Yankee Stadium, Duran got a high five at first base from coach Tom Goodwin as the milestone ball was safely sent to the Red Sox dugout.

"It felt like a weight was lifted off of my shoulders and it was like, 'OK, I can relax now,'" Duran said. "Just get that first one out of the way."

Two batters later, Duran showed off what the Red Sox hope is some game-changing speed to their lineup. Duran was at second when Christian Arroyo lofted a single to left, and his speed allowed him to score easily to give the Red Sox an early 1-0 lead.

Duran had three productive at-bats in the rain-shortened loss. Though he struck out in his second at-bat, he worked the count full against Cole before missing on a 99 mph fastball. In the sixth, he produced an impressive at-bat as he controlled the strike zone and laid off outside pitches to work a walk that loaded the bases.

"His three at-bats were good, really good," manager Alex Cora said. "He took some pitches, the last one was a big one in a big spot there against one of the best pitchers in the big leagues so he was able to slow down the game. It was fun to see him scoring from second on that base hit. It was a good night from him."

It's been a bit of a whirlwind week for Duran, who was informed of his call-up in Worcester on Wednesday before joining the Red Sox in New York on Thursday for the start of the second half. Then, after it was delayed 48 hours, his debut came on a chaotic night at Yankee Stadium in which Alex Verdugo was hit with a ball by a fan and a rain storm that shortened the game to six innings in a 3-1 loss.

"It's been crazy with all the rain and the weather and everybody joking with me that I don't want to play because the rain is coming and just joking around with me in the clubhouse," Duran said. "But it's been fun. We've got a good group of guys here who keep making it easy for me, just telling me to relax and stuff like that. They've been helping me out a lot."

___

(c)2021 the Boston Herald

Visit the Boston Herald at www.bostonherald.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.