Jarren Duran opened on the Boston Crimson Sox bench for the second day in a row Wednesday, however Crimson Sox supervisor Chad Tracy determined to place him into the sport towards the Cleveland Guardians anyway.
Gold Glove middle fielder Ceddanne Rafaela, activated from the injured record solely hours earlier than first pitch, exited the sport within the third inning at Fenway Park with what seemed to be a hamstring problem, leaving an unanswered query hanging over Boston’s outfield six days earlier than the postseason will get underway.
Tracy took Duran off the bench to interchange Rafaela, even with left-hander Foster Griffin on the mound for Cleveland. Duran struck out with two outs and the bases loaded in his first at-bat towards Griffin within the backside of the third.
Sidelined for 17 video games by a quad damage, the 26-year-old Rafaela — who stroked a single in his first and final at-bat of the sport — slotted sixth within the order towards Cleveland Guardians left-hander Griffin. He additionally caught three fly balls for all three outs within the prime of the primary.
“By no means thoughts. Jarren Duran is coming into the sport in CF,” in keeping with Boston Herald reporter Gabrielle Starr, who had initially posted that Rafaela was returning to middle.
Tracy informed ESPN that Rafaela “felt some cramping” at the back of his leg, and was pulled from the sport when “he continued to flex it.”
| BOSTON RED SOX STARTING LINEUP | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP: Sonny Grey (RHP #54) • 17-5, 2.82 ERA, 146 Okay | ||||
| September 23, 2026 • Fenway Park, Boston, MA • 7:10 PM EDT • Guardians at Crimson Sox | ||||
| # | Participant | Pos | AVG | OPS |
| 1 | Roman Anthony | LF | .235 | .704 |
| 2 | Nick Sogard | 1B | .253 | .735 |
| 3 | Jahmai Jones | DH | .205 | .675 |
| 4 | Wilyer Abreu | RF | .251 | .784 |
| 5 | Adley Rutschman | C | .240 | .737 |
| 6 | Ceddanne Rafaela | CF | .282 | .760 |
| 7 | Caleb Durbin | 3B | .254 | .725 |
| 8 | Trevor Story | SS | .247 | .646 |
| 9 | Andruw Monasterio | 2B | .237 | .678 |
| Season stats proven (AVG / OPS). | ||||
Why the Boston Crimson Sox Benched Jarren Duran
Duran additionally sat for Tuesday’s sequence opener, a 3-2 Boston loss, however drew a stroll as a pinch hitter. He entered Wednesday batting .204 with 20 dwelling runs, 69 RBIs and 19 stolen bases in 146 video games.
Boston now routinely sits Duran when an opposing lefty takes the mound, in keeping with a Boston Globe pocket book by reporter Tim Healey.
That shift opened a brand new October job for Duran, who was 19-for-23 on steal makes an attempt by mid-September. A dependable pinch runner is “an essential piece down the stretch for certain,” supervisor Chad Tracy stated, as quoted by the Globe.
Second, Roman Anthony owns left area and Wilyer Abreu owns proper. As soon as Rafaela is wholesome sufficient for middle, Duran turns into the additional outfielder.
Tracy, who shed his interim tag Tuesday, named Anthony, Duran and Jahmai Jones as his combine for left area and designated hitter within the playoffs, together with Mickey Gasper. He added that “it’s pretty secure to say” Anthony performs it doesn’t matter what, in keeping with MassLive‘s Chris Cotillo.
Tracy has stood by Duran by a down season, together with after a July dugout outburst.
“Jarren expects quite a bit out of himself. He’s a very good baseball participant that’s having a tough go of it this 12 months,” Tracy stated, as quoted by The Boston Globe‘s Healey.
| CLEVELAND GUARDIANS STARTING LINEUP | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP: Griffin (LHP #22) • 15-5, 3.67 ERA, 151 Okay | ||||
| September 23, 2026 • Fenway Park, Boston, MA • 7:10 PM EDT • Guardians at Crimson Sox | ||||
| # | Participant | Pos | AVG | OPS |
| 1 | Steven Kwan | LF | .280 | .723 |
| 2 | José Ramírez | 3B | .236 | .697 |
| 3 | Chase DeLauter | DH | .292 | .826 |
| 4 | Jo Adell | RF | .241 | .696 |
| 5 | Travis Bazzana | 2B | .246 | .743 |
| 6 | Nathaniel Lowe | 1B | .253 | .770 |
| 7 | Patrick Bailey | C | .205 | .591 |
| 8 | Petey Halpin | CF | .222 | .587 |
| 9 | Brayan Rocchio | SS | .250 | .690 |
| Season stats proven (AVG / OPS). | ||||
Jarren Duran’s Profession With the Boston Crimson Sox
At Lengthy Seashore State, Duran performed second base in all 169 of his faculty begins, hitting .294 with 49 steals, fourth-most in program historical past. Boston took him within the seventh spherical of the 2018 draft, 220th general, as an outfielder.
He debuted towards the New York Yankees on July 17, 2021, and broke by in 2023, batting .295 over 102 video games. In 2024, he earned the All-Star Sport MVP award with a two-run homer off Cincinnati Reds pitcher Hunter Greene.
All six of his big-league seasons have are available in a Crimson Sox uniform.
Boston sits at 84-73 with its wild-card sequence set to start Sept. 29, in keeping with Crimson Sox On SI. To clear area for Rafaela, the membership optioned Nate Eaton.
Whether or not Duran enters October as a pinch runner or a middle fielder probably hinges on Rafaela’s subsequent replace.
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