These are the expect the unexpected Red Sox

Those doubting the Red Sox and Jarren Duran should have known better.

Sure, the team had watched the opportunity to seal its win over the Marlins in the 10th inning when Connor Wong dropped a potential game-ending swinging third strike on Wyatt Old's pitch to Javier Sanoja, allowing Brian Navaretto to score and keep the game going. But the Red Sox have made sure in such instances the wind doesn't leave their sails for long.

Doubts come, and doubts go. This time, it was Duran who kept the narrative cooking.

The outfielder pushed his previous four at-bats (which included two strikeouts to the side), disregarding that he had to face a lefty pitcher in Cade Gibson, and punctuated another win for the Red Sox with his first grand slam since April 25, 2023. The end result was a 7-3 win over Miami, pushing Chad Tracy's team t a season-high 14 games over .500.

"We have to win," Duran told reporters. "There is no other option. That is the [identity] that we have created."

While some might have banked on Duran's propensity to come through in the late inning this season, or the fact that he had managed three hits in his previous seven at-bats with the bases loaded this season, averting your eyes from those first four at-bats and the scoreboard all in attendance that the outfielder was just a few points away from dipping below the Mendoza Line was still a feat.

This, however, has been anything but a paint-by-numbers kind of season, with Duran's existence spelling that out perfectly.

This is a player who has found himself going from the lineup's No. 3 hitter on Opening Day to the seventh spot, striving to recapture that feeling of collecting those two hits in that first game, in Cincinnati. He is a hitter whose expectations against lefties had also plummeted, adding to the less-than-optimistic vibe heading into that at-bat against Gibson.

Lessons learned. As the Greek philosopher Heraclitus said, "If you do not expect the unexpected, you will not recognize it when it arrives." What those watching the Red Sox should recognize by now is that the blueprint has been torn up, and in its place is this leap of faith that all will work out.

"Extra innings, bases loaded, that's what you do in the backyard," Mickey Gasper explained to reporters. "It's probably one of the coolest swings I've ever seen in person. Just being a big-time guy, getting a big hit. It just shows that we're never out of it. No matter how your day's going, it's the next at-bat that counts the most."

Think about where the Red Sox have landed.

They have found themselves now within striking distance of getting a home series in the wild card round, sitting just 1 1/2 games in back of a Yankees team the Red Sox play four times in three days over the weekend. It's a team that has gone 41-13 since last meeting the New Yorkers back on June 25, a run that is eight games better than any other MLB team. (And, just for reference, the Yanks' record in these last two months is an even .500 at 26-26.)

All unexpected, to be sure.

But what truly should define the Red Sox's own Odyssey are the players who are steering this ship. Tuesday night's starter, Payton Tolle, started the season with Triple-A Worcester. So did the guy who hit two home runs in this latest win, Gasper, along with the starting third baseman (Nick Sogard) and second baseman (Anthony Siegler). Then there were the two pitchers tasked with closing out the game, Olds and Alec Gamboa, neither of which were on the 40-man roster to start the season.

Another look back at that season-opener in Cincy will reveal that the lineup's first two hitters, Roman Anthony and Trevor Story, were spending Tuesday night playing for the WooSox, while the first three pitchers in that season-opening, 3-0 win over the Reds (Garrett Crochet, Justin Slaten and Garrett Whitlock) also aren't on the active roster due to injuries.

Remember, the biggest concern back on March 26 was that the Red Sox might not be able to hit left-handed pitching. Well, since that June 25 jumping off point, this club has the fifth-best OPS against lefties of any team in baseball, with Wilyer Abreu thriving in such situations with a .308 batting average and .898 OPS.

It's a team that went from the worst come-from-behind team to the best. The worst home-run-hitting team to the best. The worst team to the best (at least using that late-June Yankees get-together as the jumping off the point.)

Guessing and planning have become pointless. At this point, the best course of action for Red Sox fans is to simply enjoy what has become the wildest of rides.