‘That game is 100 percent on me’: Jarren Duran blames himself for loss to Yankees
"I gained more ground than I thought. I didn't really have to go into a full dive there."
With two outs in the fifth inning of Wednesday’s Game 2 – which the Yankees won, 4-3, to force a winner-takes-all Game 3 on Thursday – Red Sox left fielder Jarren Duran charged at a shallow fly ball and appeared to be in ideal position to make a catch.
It wasn’t an extremely easy play, but it was one he’d likely make nine times out of 10. For whatever reason, in this moment, Duran couldn’t secure it. The ball hit off his glove, which scored Trent Grisham and gave New York a 3-2 edge.
The official scorekeeper went easy on Duran, deeming Aaron Judge’s flair a single, yet Duran was anything but easy on himself after dropping a ball he knows he should have caught.
“I was just playing pretty deep on Judge,” Duran told reporters. “As I was coming in, I thought it was hit a little harder than it was. I gained more ground than I thought. I didn’t really have to go into a full dive there.”
Duran said he pushed the ball on himself and it got up on him. He took ownership, acknowledging it was on him.
“This one’s going to sting a little bit,” Duran said. “I know that game is 100 percent on me. If I make that play, Trevor [Story] hits the homer, we take the lead. But I messed it up. I gave them momentum.”
Duran said he’s “going to have to wear that one.” His plan is to think about it Wednesday night and then get over it with the goal of redeeming himself.
Despite the setback, Duran said he has confidence in the group that it will be able to bounce back in Game 3.
“We’ve been through stuff like this before,” Duran said. “We’ve been resilient all year. I’m excited to see what we can do.”
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