Duran does it all to back Paxton as Sox win 4th straight

BOSTON -- When the 2023 season started, James Paxton was rehabbing from yet another injury and Jarren Duran was a 26-year-old starting the season at Triple-A trying not to fall off Boston’s radar.

But with the All-Star break approaching, both players demonstrated again in Saturday’s 10-3 victory over the Athletics at Fenway Park that they are arguably the two top storylines for the Red Sox to this point of the season.

Once again, the electrifying Duran filled up his stat line (single, double, homer, stolen base, three runs, three RBIs) and also made a nice running catch to rob Brent Rooker of extra bases in the eighth.

“Man, he's on fire,” Paxton said of Duran. “It's fun to watch. You know, he's such an athletic guy, and so many tools on the field. He's an exciting player and I’m glad he's on our team.”

And Paxton, while turning in what felt like a routine quality start (six innings, six hits, two runs, one walk, three strikeouts), allowed two earned runs or fewer for the eighth time in his 10 starts.

This, following a week in which he saw his wife deliver the couple a baby girl. Due to his paternity leave, Paxton made his start on seven days’ rest.

“Good fastball. Good command of his pitches,” manager Alex Cora said. “He understands what he needs to do.”

The Red Sox (47-43) head into Sunday’s final game before the break having reeled off seven wins in their last eight games after getting swept at home by the Marlins a couple of weeks ago.

Though Boston is in last place in the ultra-competitive American League East, Cora’s club is just two games back in the hunt for the third Wild Card spot.

Boston has had its share of ups and downs, but Duran (aside from one West Coast slump in May) and Paxton have been consistent with their impact.

For Paxton, these past few weeks have been all about finally being healthy again. The 34-year-old made a total of six starts from 2020-22.

Thanks to an elbow that has been rebuilt from Tommy John surgery and his other nagging injuries finally going away (knock on wood), Paxton (5-1, 2.73 ERA, 0.98 WHIP) looks as good as ever.

“Oh yeah, none of us are surprised,” Duran said. “He goes out there and throws as well as he does every single day. We just give him a little run support and we can just chill and relax and watch him do his thing.”

Considering the Red Sox currently have Chris Sale (stress reaction in left shoulder), Tanner Houck (facial fracture) and Garrett Whitlock on the injured list with no set return dates, Paxton’s return to health could not have come at a better time.

Then there is Duran, who lost out to Raimel Tapia for a roster spot in Spring Training, mostly due to a disappointing 2022 in which he struggled with his bat, glove and mindset.

All three of those things have rebounded for the speedy outfielder, who provides a spark just about every day.

When Adam Duvall came back from a broken left wrist on June 9, the plan was for Duran to come off the bench.

That didn’t last long. During his stint as a reserve, Duran had a big game basically every time Cora put him in the starting lineup. And now the manager is finding a way to get Duran in there just about every day.

In his past 22 games dating back to June 11, Duran is hitting .424 (28-for-66) with 11 doubles, two triples and two homers.

While it would only be natural for Duran to feel bittersweet about the All-Star break coming at a time he couldn’t be feeling better, he said he is fine with it.

“No, I think it's a good thing for some of the guys,” Duran said. “It's not just about me, it's about the team. Some guys need the rest. And that's really important for the team.”

Duran, meanwhile, is making sure his opponents don’t have many restful moments when he’s at the plate.

“I'm just trying to be that annoyance to the other team and just get on base, and run and try and cause havoc, and just keep pressure on, and hopefully the guys behind me can get a good pitch to hit,” Duran said.