If Thursday night was one of Jarren Duran's final acts with the Boston Red Sox, it wasn't one that will be remembered fondly. The latest uncomfortable moment involving Duran came in the top of the sixth inning in Thursday's 5-4 win over the Athletics in Sacramento.
Duran came up with runners on second and third and one out in a 3-3 game. He proceeded to hit a lazy fly ball to shallow left field, one that was clearly not deep enough for Willson Contreras to tag from third.
Well, clear to everyone except Duran, apparently. In a truly bizarre reaction, Duran decided to show up Contreras and/or third base coach Chad Epperson, throwing his hands in the air and appearing to yell "Run!" multiple times.
Seems like Duran was going after Contreras by saying "run."
Way too shallow. Weird behavior. https://t.co/aBWxJxD590 pic.twitter.com/bIaB7zQgli
— Tyler Milliken (@tylermilliken_) July 31, 2026
It's never a particularly good idea to publicly go after a teammate or coach, but less so when Duran was obviously in the wrong here, and less so when you're a player who has struggled as much as Duran has this season.
While Contreras has been an offensive and emotional leader all season, a player who has more than carried his weight, Duran is having the worst season of his career, with the worst batting average by a qualified player in Red Sox history.
With Monday's trade deadline now just days away, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow is running out of time as he debates what to do with Duran. The left fielder has remained just about an everyday player despite his struggles, but his spot in the lineup remains one where the Red Sox could clearly use an upgrade.
The Red Sox have given Duran every chance to turn things around, but it hasn't happened. His .195 average in July matches his .195 average for the season.
Perhaps it was just Duran's own frustration boiling over Thursday night. Perhaps everyone will be able to smooth things over; a win certainly helps in that respect. Or perhaps Breslow decides in the coming days to take what he can get for Duran and find someone else to play left field.
Duran and interim manager Chad Tracy both downplayed the incident after the game, with Duran flat-out saying that nothing happened, and Tracy saying that Duran was just mad at himself.
Jarren Duran says what happened on his flyout was "nothing."
Says we don't have to know. Nobody needs to know. Just said it's something the team works on. pic.twitter.com/tDJlMEqg8b
— Tyler Milliken (@tylermilliken_) July 31, 2026
Chad Tracy says Jarren Duran was just mad at himself during that moment on the field. Don't know how many people are going to believe that. pic.twitter.com/tj7rZqDvyo
— Tyler Milliken (@tylermilliken_) July 31, 2026
As for Contreras, the man on the receiving end of Duran's outburst? He took matters into his own hands his next at-bat, going back-to-back with Wilyer Abreu and crushing a go-ahead home run to deep left-center field in the top of the eighth.
Greg Weissert and Aroldis Chapman closed out Sonny Gray's league-leading 13th win of the season, and the Red Sox completed their seventh straight series win.
