Sunday was a day to forget for Boston Red Sox center fielder Jarren Duran.
Boston’s new every day center fielder was on the wrong end of two defensive miscues in the Red Sox’s 13-5 loss to the Kansas City Royals, essentially driving the nail into the coffin of yet another series loss.
Duran misplayed back-to-back putout opportunities in the bottom of the seventh inning, losing a routine flyball in the sun that led to a Nathan Eaton triple before dropping a gap shot by Kyle Isbel that would put the Royals up 6-3.
It was a frustrating inning for Duran to say the least, but he gave credit to his teammates following the game for helping him get his mind right.
“I was just talking to (Alex Verdugo) and he just came over and gave me a pat on the back and said, ‘Hey man, don’t worry about it. We all have those days,’ ” Duran said, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “It means a lot, you think you’re alone when you’re out there and stuff like that happens. Then you realize other guys have done it, like Tommy Pham told me, ‘I had three sun balls in Cincinnati.’ They were just telling me it happens, even though you think you’re the only one it’s ever happened to.”
Duran’s manager Alex Cora made sure to share his understanding as well, noting there’s nothing he could have done about losing a ball in the sun. Though he’s likely going to want to put Sunday in the rearview mirror, Duran can draw the support of his teammates and coaches out of a ghastly game.
