Alex Cora Has No Problem With Jarren Duran Not Tagging From Third In Red Sox-Yankees

The Boston Red Sox had runners on the corners with just one out when Alex Verdugo flied out to left field, but Jarren Duran did not tag from third.

With how speedy Duran is, it did make some question why he wasn’t sent. But Joey Gallo showed off his cannon and executed a perfect throw home in the New York Yankees’ eventual 2-0 win in Game 2 of the doubleheader Tuesday night.

The Red Sox were down by the same score and desperately needed a run, but it’s likely Duran would have been thrown out regardless of his speed.

Alex Cora agrees with the move.

“He’s one of the best defensive outfielders in the big leagues,” Cora said of Gallo after the game over Zoom. “I mean, we had second and third after that. He has a cannon. … We gotta be very careful with him in that situation. We prepare for situations for like that. I was actually 100 percent with (third base coach) Carlos (Febles) and Jarren on that one. Actually I was more excited that Kiké (Hernández) got to second and we had two men in scoring position.”

Having two men in scoring position was great. However, they were unable to produce any runs despite being on the basepath.

The Red Sox can salvage a game from the Yankees on Wednesday when they wrap up the series at Yankee Stadium at 7:05 p.m. ET.