Boston Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran had a plan in mind when he stepped into the batter's box Monday night in the bottom of the ninth with the game-winning run in scoring position.
"Not trying to put a big swing on it, not trying to overdo it," Duran told reporters, as seen on NESN postgame coverage. "... Just telling myself to breathe and keep it simple and don't over swing it. Just real, nice easy swing."
Duran really couldn't have executed any better.
Duran singled through the right side of the infield against Toronto Blue Jays reliever Zach Pop to bring home Ceddanne Rafaela and lift the Red Sox to a 7-6 walk-off win at Fenway Park.
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It was the first walk-off hit of Duran's career and he was pleading with Rafaela, who advanced to second initially on a balk by Pop, in the moment to turn on the afterburners and score.
"It was was crazy," Duran said. "When I hit it I was like, 'Go Rafa, go Rafa,' in my head watching Rafa run. And then, (first base coach Andy Fox) was screaming at me to keep going to second. I was just talking with some of the boys, like, 'Hey, is that a double?' Because maybe I got to second before."
But Duran was just as amped to see the Red Sox band together and get multiple contributions to overcome a four-run deficit in the eighth inning and make his walk-off moment possible.
"All jokes aside, man, it was a huge team win," Duran said. "We just can't put it on the walk off. We fought back. We were down four runs, came back, scored a bunch of runs. Pitching did really good today. Tanner (Houck) an absolute stud. Honestly, it was just a complete team game and just makes me so happy to be here because of what we're doing as a team."
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Featured image via Paul Rutherford/USA TODAY Sports Images
