CHICAGO — Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran showed off his speed and smart baserunning with an eventful run around the bases against the White Sox on Friday at Guaranteed Rate Field.
And finally, as Chicago tried to appeal whether Duran had touched first base just a few minutes earlier, Duran pulled off one of the most unusual steals of home plate you’ll ever see.
“I’m just trying to wreak havoc on the bases,” Duran said. “I’ve got great leg strength, so I’m just trying to use it as much as I can.”
After walking leadoff hitter Bobby Dalbec in the top of the third, Duran chopped the ball to White Sox starter Garrett Crochette. Duran initially felt it would be a close game, but also that it would be a tough play for Crochette coming off the mound.
The White Sox left-hander threw a low ball to first baseman Andrew Vaughn, who ricocheted down the right field line and Duran took off running.
“I just [Dalbec]”if [Dalbec] I was going to go, I was going to get to third base.”
Duran advanced to second base and then, without hesitation, drove to third base, scoring Dalbec to tie the game at 1-1. Rob Refsnyder then came to bat, but Crochette had to throw again before he could settle at the plate.
With his back to Duran at third base, Crochette stepped off the mound and threw to Vaughn. The White Sox were protesting whether Duran had touched first base first. As Crochette stepped off the mound and threw, Duran started running toward home plate. Vaughn was unable to catch the throw, and Duran scored easily.
“We noticed he missed first base from our side,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “We [Duran]’As soon as possible [Crochet] If there’s a fight, go. [Crochet] I’ll step off and try to make a play on him and hopefully he’ll be safe at home plate and we’ll score.
“What we were trying to do was not appeal, but move on to the next play,” Cora added. “We moved on to the next play, and he tried to steal home plate on the next play.”
White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said he was prepared for Duran to try to steal, and told Crochette to throw to first and not attack Duran, which would have cost him an opportunity to appeal.
First base umpire and team chief Alan Porter ruled Duran safe on appeal despite Crochet’s misthrow, but Grifol said he hadn’t seen the call. In the confusion, the White Sox’s opportunity to challenge whether Duran had hit the base was closed.
“We knew the rules, we knew what to do, we knew how to do it,” Grifol said. “They knew it, too. And I thought the time had passed, but I also think I could have asked him, ‘Hey, I don’t know the grounds for appeal. Can I appeal this now?’ [Porter] He said he’d let us try, so at the end of the day, it’s on me.”
The last time a Red Sox player stole home was Duran on May 21. Prior to that, the last Red Sox player to accomplish the feat was Travis Shaw on April 21, 2016. Duran is also the third Red Sox player since 1974 to steal home twice in a season (Dwight Evans in 1974 and Fred Lynn in 1975).
An eventful top of the third inning led to some anxious moments for Boston late in the game when right fielder Tyler O’Neill left the game with soreness in his right knee. O’Neill, who left the field cautiously with Cora and trainers, returned from the 10-day disabled list on Wednesday after missing nine games with right knee inflammation.
“I was feeling pretty good before the game,” O’Neill said, but noticed a problem when he caught a fly ball by Paul DeJong in the second inning.
“I don’t think the diagnosis has changed,” O’Neill said. “There’s nothing structurally wrong with it or anything to be concerned about. It’s just gotten a little bit worse. I think it’ll calm down a little bit after some time has passed. I’m really hoping it will be over in a few days.”
O’Neill said he’s aiming to avoid the disabled list, but there will be discussions heading into Saturday about whether the Red Sox need to make any roster changes, even if it’s just to avoid ultimately playing shortstop for a few days.
“We’ll see how it goes tonight and decide what we’re going to do tomorrow,” Cora said.
