Jarren Duran’s September reset started with a haircut, but the bigger change may have come from a conversation with Trevor Story.
The Boston Red Sox outfielder showed up looking different during the weekend series in Baltimore, cutting off his trademark long hair and dyeing it blond. On Monday night at Fenway Park, he looked different at the plate too, going 2-for-4 with a home run and a double in Boston’s 5-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels. The solo homer was his 20th of the season, and it helped push the Red Sox to their fifth straight victory.
The new style drew plenty of notice. The message from Story, though, sounded like the thing that mattered most.
Duran has been candid about how much this season has bothered him, and Story, who has been next to his locker for years, finally decided to push back on the self-criticism.
“He finally heard it enough in Baltimore,” Duran said. “He’s like, ‘Dude, that’s enough. All this negative self-talk, you’re just making it a reality instead of if I talk positive, then positive outcomes will come.’”
Isiah Kiner-Falefa offered a similar nudge, telling Duran not to get stuck on the full-season numbers and instead lock in on helping Boston during its postseason push.
That change in approach showed up Monday. Duran launched a second-inning homer and added a double in the fifth, giving him multiple extra-base hits in the same game for the first time since May 20.
“I’m so hard on myself."
That kind of self-pressure has been part of Duran’s Red Sox story for a while. It can fuel the energy and edge that make him such a dangerous player, but it can also drag one rough at-bat into something bigger than it needs to be. Story saw that pattern and tried to break it.
Duran’s season has not gone exactly the way he wanted, but it is still carrying real production. His 20th homer put him within reach of a 20-homer, 20-steal season, and Red Sox manager Chad Tracy said Duran still has a real shot at finishing with more than 80 RBIs.
Those numbers would mean something, even if Duran feels like he should have done more. Boston, though, needs him looking ahead rather than backward.
The Red Sox moved to 80-65 with the win, reached 15 games above .500 for the first time this year and stayed close to the New York Yankees in the American League playoff race.
October could end up reshaping how Duran’s season is remembered. A strong postseason would carry far more weight than the frustration he has felt for much of the year. Boston does not need him replaying the mistakes from April through August.
It needs the version of Duran that can change a game with power and speed.
The haircut gave his teammates something to laugh about. Story’s blunt warning gave him something more important to hold onto.
Monday night suggested what happens when Duran stops feeding the negative loop and starts moving forward. One good game does not make a turnaround.
It can be the start of one.
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Rutschmans absence leaves Boston watching a key spot in the order and behind the plate a little longer than expected, and it comes at a moment when every lineup decision feels magnified. The Red Sox have enough to sort out after dropping the last game, and now they have to do it without one of the names they were counting on most. [Read more 🡒]