Boston Pink Sox outfielder Jarren Duran stepped into the batter’s field within the fifth inning for his first at-bat in Tuesday’s MLB All-Star Recreation with a plan.
And he executed it completely.
Duran first checked out a 95 mph fastball from Cincinnati Reds flamethrower Hunter Greene earlier than launching the second pitch he noticed 413 ft to right-center subject for a game-defining two-run residence run. The round-tripper from Duran, who was named the sport’s Ted Williams MVP, broke a 3-3 impasse and it proved to be the final runs of the marquee exhibition contest with the American League holding on for a 5-3 win at Globe Life Discipline.
“I do know he throws actually arduous, so I used to be like, ‘All proper, I hope he’s throwing me a fastball first pitch so I can see how arduous it’s,’” Duran instructed FOX Sports activities’ Kevin Burkhardt on the sphere. “After which he gave me pitch to place swing on it.”
Story continues under commercial
Duran, who was making his first All-Star Recreation look, flipped his bat in celebration as he made certain to admire his work, one thing he admitted was out of character for himself.
“That was most likely the primary pitch I’ve ever pimped in my life and I used to be simply making an attempt to soak all of it in,” Duran stated. “It was a surreal second.”
Duran completed the competition 1-for-2 as he grounded out to second base in his solely different at-bat. The 27-year-old turned the primary member of the Pink Sox to take residence MVP honors since 2008 and simply the fifth participant in franchise historical past — becoming a member of J.D. Drew, Pedro Martinez, Roger Clemens and Carl Yastrzemski — to earn the popularity.
Duran entered the All-Star break batting .284 with 10 residence runs, 41 RBIs and 22 stolen bases. He additionally leads MLB with 10 triples and is tops within the AL with 27 doubles.
Story continues under commercial
It’s already been a particular season for Duran and maybe this large second within the Midsummer Traditional will catapult him to an much more memorable second half of the season.