The Red Sox seem to have finally found some momentum as they have unhooked themselves from the bottom of the AL East, thanks to their sweep of the Kansas City Royals earlier this week. The players now look motivated, with one individual in particular willing to take things up a notch. 

“I’m willing to get hurt to make a play for my pitchers,” Jarren Duran said after he crashed into the fence to catch a fly ball during the final game against the Royals on Wednesday. 

Connelly Early was pitching in the third inning when Maikel Garcia hit a 307-foot fly ball to left. The Red Sox were leading 2-1, and Duran wanted to keep it that way. So, he threw himself against the railing just above the wall at Kauffman Stadium to make a spectacular catch. 

Early himself didn’t expect the outfielder to make it. 

“I don’t know how he caught the one down the line,” the pitcher said. “He’s a freak athlete, and when he goes out there and shows you what he can do, it’s really special.”

But Duran had a very simple idea. He just wanted to help the pitcher early.  “I was just trying to make a play for Earls. I mean, he’s going really good, and I was just trying to give him one more easy out,” he said. 

Early pitched 6.1 innings, striking out 6 batters and allowing 3 runs. His 3.33 ERA was the second-worst of the season. But it was enough to help the Red Sox win the 3rd consecutive game against the Royals. 

Duran did more than just catch. He hit a 2-run homer in the 7th inning, ultimately sealing the deal for Boston. But it wasn’t the first time he recorded a home run and a reel-worthy catch in the same game. In fact, he did the same only the previous night. 

During the 2nd game against Kansas City, he made a jumping, twisting 364-foot catch at the warning track. It helped the Red Sox keep the 2-1 lead. And the 29-year-old followed it up with a 3-run homer in the 9th inning as they finally won 7-1. 

He has been incredible recently, with 6-for-15 in the last 4 games. And that includes 2 HRs, 2 doubles, 1 triple, and 6 RBIs with 4 walks. He wasn’t exaggerating when he said, “I think I’m trending. I’m trending in an upward direction.”

That said, he also admitted that he is simply trying to help the team win. And the Red Sox have really turned a leaf. 

The Red Sox may finally be getting the spark back

Boston played good baseball last season after three years of disappointing results, during which they missed the playoffs from 2022 through 2024 and twice finished at the bottom of the AL East. They entered the playoffs as a Wild Card with a .549 win percentage. But early 2026 was a disaster as they were nowhere near .500. The Red Sox are currently 22-27, tied for the 3rd place with the Blue Jays. 

Although the results are hardly different since they fired Alex Cora (they were 10-17), there has been a recent change. They won 9 out of their last 15 games. And more importantly, they have swept two road series. The earlier was against the Tigers with a 19-7 overall score, and now the Royals with 14-5. 

Players like Jarren Duran are at the center of that shift. But he wasn’t always as successful as he has been in the past few games. He had a .174 batting average in the first 39 games. And he was going through some personal struggles as well, after a fan in the stadium asked him to go k*** himself. But even when he was not able to connect, he wanted to make sure he stayed relevant and effective. 

“If my bat’s not gonna be there, I want to make sure I’m playing good defense, so that was probably one of the [most fun] parts of the night,” Duran added. 

Interim manager Chad Tracy feels happy and confident with the player’s recent turnaround.  “All of those are very good signs,” he said. “It means he’s staying on the ball and seeing it, and giving himself a shot. And he’s got the power to do that.”