Boston Red Sox’s Jarren Duran on losing ball in twilight: ‘It’s the most helpless feeling you could ever feel’

BOSTON — Red Sox center fielder Jarren Duran said he lost sight of Raimel Tapia’s 384-foot fly ball, leading to an inside-the-park grand slam.

“I just lost it in the twilight,” Duran said after the Red Sox’s 28-5 loss to the Blue Jays here at Fenway Park on Friday.

The 28 runs allowed were the most a Red Sox team has ever given up in a game. The previous franchise high for runs allowed in a game came July 7, 1923, in a 27-3 loss at Cleveland.

Duran started running in and put his hands up slightly, signaling he lost sight of the ball. The baseball landed on the warning track.

“It’s the most helpless feeling you could ever feel,” Duran said.

Duran failed to chase after it. He instead stood there as left fielder Alex Verdugo ran after it and threw the ball back into the infield. See the video of the play here.

“Dugie was right there already,” Duran said. “Obviously I should have taken a step or two. But he was already going to beat me to the ball so I just didn’t want to get in his way. What if I sprinted and collided with him or something like that? But next time I know to take one or two steps. But he was already going to beat me to the ball.”

Manager Alex Cora said Duran expects Verdugo and right fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. to back him up on that play.

“But at the same time, you’ve gotta go, too,” Cora said. “That’s conversations between players. Sometimes that voice is a lot louder than the manager in those situations. The feeling, it’s a hard feeling. There’s nothing you can do. But stuff like that we address. We try to make him better, help him out. He’s still a kid. He’s learning the position and all that. And I bet at that point, he didn’t even know what to do.”

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