May 26, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox left fielder Jarren Duran (16) rounds the bases after hitting a home run against the Atlanta Braves in the first inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images David Butler II-Imagn Images
Tuesday night was encouraging in some facets for the Boston Red Sox, but it also marked a new low point in the season.
After falling behind by three runs twice in the late innings, the Red Sox fought back against Atlanta Braves closer Raisel Iglesias and scored the first earned runs against the standout righty since Aug. 24 of last year. But ultimately, the two runs in the ninth inning fell short of a comeback, and the Red Sox moved to 22-31 — nine games under .500 for the first time this year.
Jarren Duran has been one of the vocal leaders of the Red Sox this season, though it hasn’t always been smooth sailing. After the 7-6 defeat, he expressed his continued faith in this Boston team to turn its season around, causing some mixed reactions among the fans.
What Duran said about Red Sox fighting back
Speaking on the Red Sox’s ability to come close with late rallies but not finish the job, Duran made it clear he believes there are better days to come for this floundering Boston squad.
“It’s baseball… It would be so easy for us to just give up and roll over and be like, ‘Alright, the game is over (when trailing in the ninth inning), we’re losing, whatever,’” Duran said, via NESN and Tyler Milliken. “But one of these times we’re gonna put together what we do in the ninth the whole game, and we’re going to go on a run, and it’s going to be sick.
“But it’s tough, you know? We like to fight until the end. I love that out of my teammates.”
The reactions to Duran’s quotes were drastically varied: some optimistic, some sarcastic, and some trending toward apathetic based on the doldrums of this Red Sox season.
Moral victories are tough to come by in a season that’s quickly gone from playoff expectations to hoping for .500 by Labor Day. But if the Red Sox have any hopes of righting the ship, they certainly start with prominent contributors like Duran staying optimistic, even if some of the fans disagree.
