Speedy Jarren Duran steals home for the second time this season
Jarren Duran saw an opportunity to steal home, and he took it in the third inning of the Red Sox 7-2 loss to the White Sox on Friday night.
Duran initially got to third base after an error allowed Bobby Dalbec to score from first and send the speedy outlier to third base.
The White Sox began to dispute whether or not Duran touched first base on his way to third. After the umpires got together at home plate, Chicago lefty Garrett Crochet stepped off the pitching rubber and delivered a pick-off to first base that was wild and got away from first baseman Andrew Vaughn.
Duran, paying close attention, bolted off for home and scored in a weird turn of events on the field. It was the second time this season Duran has stolen home plate.
“We noticed that (Duran) missed first from our end,” explained Alex Cora. “So we were telling him, as soon as (Crochet) engages, go home. And if he steps off and tries to make a play (at home) on him, hopefully he’s safe at the plate and we can steal a run. We did steal a run in that situation. I think it was more about the mechanism of the appeal; that’s why we were actually able to do it.
“They appealed, he was called safe, and then from there, they ran out of time as far as the replay stuff. And that’s why he was able to score.”
Third base coach Kyle Hudson told Duran to head home as soon as Crochet stepped off the rubber on his throw to first on the appeal.
“I didn’t know for sure if he had to be on the rubber or just around the mound for me to break,” said Duran. “But I think if we had to do it again, I would probably do it a little differently. But I’m glad I was able to do something for the team right there. I was just trying to cause havoc on the bases, man. I’m blessed with the legs, so I’m just trying to use them as much as I can possibly can.”
Duran is having another strong year at the plate; he’s batting .266 with five homers, 17 doubles, a league-leading nine triples, 27 RBI, 12 stolen bases, and a .786 OPS.
