ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Hitting a home run and stealing home in the same game is nice. The smile and energy coming off Jarren Duran during and after the Red Sox' 5-2 win over the Rays Tuesday night was evidence of that.
But accomplishing the feat in the world Duran is living in should add an extra bit of panache.
The flying around the bases. The launching of his 427-foot homer. The sprint to home on the back-end of a pivotal eighth-inning double-steal. All of it was done by the outfielder his the Red Sox' 49th game of the season. Math would suggest that it is also the exact same number of tilts the Red Sox have played this season.
Yes, Duran is on pace to become the first Red Sox player since Bill Buckner to play in all 162 regular season games. That, in case you're keeping score at home, was 39 years ago.
"Me and AC (Alex Cora) always walk past each other make a joke. He always says, '162'. So I'm going to go until they say 'take it easy,' or something like that," Duran told WEEI.com. "As long as they want me out there I'm going to go out there and play the best I can."
The idea of going stem to stern in a regular season Major League Baseball calendar has always been a feat, particularly for hair-on-fire-type of players like Duran. Last season, four players - Matt Olson, Marcus Semien, Juan Soto and Eugenio Suarez - were the only ones to go all 162.
Besides Buckner, the only Red Sox players to not have a single day off in a 162-game season were Dwight Evans (1982, '84), George Scott (1966), Carl Yastrzemski (1969) and Jim Rice, who actually played in 163 in 1978.
While it's uncertain where Duran will land in this quest, it is fair to pause and appreciate the manner in which he continues to gain steam while possessing the fourth-most plate appearances in big league baseball.
The latest example first came in the form of the hardest-hit homer in his career (110.9 mph), and the second-furthest, trailing only the one he hit May 1, 2023 off of Toronto's Jose Berrios.
Then came the dash home with two outs in the eighth and the game knotted at 2-2.
With the memory of not fully committing to stealing home in a game earlier this season against Seattle - going two-thirds of the way down the third base line before retreating back to the bag - Duran was going to make no mistake about this one.
After Tampa Bay chose to walk Rafael Devers with Duran sitting at third (officially ending the slugger's chance at a seventh straight game of homering), the Sox' third baseman took off for what would ultimately be his first stolen base since Oct. 1, 2023. Devers would pull up just before catcher Ben Rortvedt's throw reached second baseman Brandon Lowe.
Lowe chose to immediately turn his attention to gunning down Duran at home, who had taken off immediately after seeing the ball fly out of Jackson's hand.
Statcast put Duran's sprint speed on the jaunt home at 28.8 feet per second. It wasn't his fastest, with the outfielder tying teammate David Hamilton for the fastest sprint speed on the club (91.1 FPS). But it was plenty fast enough.
"I feel like they were aware of it since against Seattle I was halfway down the damn line and I was too scare to go. Even my brother left me know I was too soft to go," said Duran, who executed a straight steal of home for Triple-A Worcester last season, also coming against Rortvedt. "It was a good opportunity and Raffy stole the base and I was able to go on the throw. It worked out for us."
He added, "Me and (third base coach Kyle Hudson) were talking and he said, 'If they throw through you aregoing.' So as soon as I saw him throw the ball I was full go to go home. So that's what I was looking for."
Duran certainly is showing no signs of slowing down as he eyes Game 50, having gone 10-for-27 with three walks and eight extra-base hits over the past seven games.
He's not even a third of the way there, but Duran is certainly making a case that this target set by him and his manager isn't a pipe dream.
"I just want to be able to tell myself, 'I can do this for the team.' Be accountable for them to play me every day," Duran said. "It is really hard. Every day I am working to keep my body healthy and some days it feels good and some days it doesn't. That's part of baseball. That's part of the grind. I take pride in being a hard-worker and being out there every day and play for the team."