1st-time All-Star Duran shines in MVP effort for AL

ARLINGTON, Texas — On a night when Paul Skenes, Major League Baseball’s pitching phenom, toed the rubber for a historic All-Star Game start, and Shohei Ohtani, the sport’s brightest global superstar, demolished a home run for the National League, it was a 27-year-old former top prospect enjoying a breakout season who was the difference at the 2024 All-Star Game on Tuesday.

Boston Red Sox center fielder Jarren Duran, a first-time All-Star in his second season as an every-day player, completed the American League’s comeback 5-3 victory at Globe Life Field with a two-run homer off Cincinnati Reds fireballer Hunter Greene.

With the blast, Duran became the first Red Sox player since J.D. Drew in 2008 and the fifth in franchise history to earn the game’s MVP award — named after Ted Williams, a 19-time All-Star and the consensus greatest player in Red Sox history.

“That’s an honor,” Duran said. “Who else would I want to try to follow in the footsteps of?”

Duran put the finishing touches on a comeback required after Ohtani smashed a 400-foot, three-run homer against Red Sox right-hander Tanner Houck to open the scoring in the third inning. It was the Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter’s first career All-Star Game home run and second by a Dodgers player since Mike Piazza in 1996. Ichiro Suzuki’s inside-the-park homer in 2007 had been the only home run by a Japanese-born player in All-Star Game history.

Ohtani, who walked in his first plate appearance, entered Tuesday, his fourth career All-Star Game, 1-for-4 with two walks.

“In general, I haven’t really hit well during the All-Star Game, so I’m just relieved that I put a good ball in play,” Ohtani said. “I was really just focused on having a regular at-bat, as if I was in the regular season.”

Houck was the first Red Sox pitcher to give up an All-Star Game home run since Roger Clemens in 1991. The National League didn’t score again in what ended up being the shortest All-Star Game — at 2 hours, 28 minutes — since 1988.

The quick exhibition began with a dose of drama.

Juan Soto‘s exceptional skill, the trait that has placed him on a path to first-ballot Hall of Fame status, is an uncanny ability to reach base. Never has the baseball universe, in unison, wanted to see the New York Yankees right fielder get that job done more than in the first inning Tuesday.

The pressure began to mount Monday when American League All-Star team manager Bruce Bochy announced a lineup that surprisingly had Yankees center fielder, and leading American League MVP candidate, Aaron Judge batting fourth.

That meant Judge was not guaranteed to face Skenes, the Pittsburgh Pirates‘ rookie sensation who was slated for a strict one-inning limit. Somebody had to get on base to produce the clash. When Skenes retired the AL’s first two batters, that somebody had to be Soto, or the matchup everyone wanted to see wasn’t happening.

Soto, in typical fashion, accomplished the task by working a seven-pitch walk to appease the masses.

“I was trying to take him deep, bro,” said Soto, a four-time All-Star who started for the first time Tuesday. “But after two strikes I was trying to work the at-bat because I wanted to make sure he faced him too, so I got my job done.”

The drama, however, was fleeting: Judge swung at the first pitch from Skenes, a 100 mph fastball, and grounded into a fielder’s choice to end the inning.

“That was fun,” said Judge, a six-time All-Star. “It was a fun first inning. To have a chance to hit behind [Soto], watch him do his thing against one of the young studs in the NL right now was pretty cool.”

Skenes failed to record a strikeout, but he threw five of his 16 pitches at least 100 mph, induced four whiffs — all on his nasty splinker — and silenced any remaining critics who believed he didn’t deserve to start the game after just 11 career big league starts.

One of 37 first-time All-Stars, Skenes was the first rookie to start the exhibition since Hideo Nomo took the mound for the National League at the Rangers’ old home ballpark across the street in 1995.

Nomo was a 26-year-old star with years as a pro in Japan under his belt back then for the Dodgers, playing in the country’s second-largest market. Skenes, at 22 years old, is barely a year removed from being the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft and starring for a small-market club.

“Frankly, I wish I’d had a few more pitches to [pitch on the national stage] today,” said Skenes, who owns a 1.90 ERA in 66⅓ innings for Pittsburgh. “It was cool to have that matchup, cool to throw with William [Contreras] and talk through the game plan with him, talk about facing those guys, how we were going to get them out and then going out there and executing.

“Obviously, it’s the All-Star Game. It’s on national TV, which is cool. It’s cool to bring eyes to the game.”

Two innings after Skenes’ exit, Soto came through again in a different way for the AL, slashing a ground ball up the middle that he converted into a two-run hustle double thanks to a lackadaisical Teoscar Hernandez in center field to cut the NL’s lead to one run.

Two batters later, David Fry, pinch hitting for Globe Life Field adversary Yordan Alvarez, scored Soto from second base with a game-tying RBI single to left field.

Duran finished off the come-from-behind win — the American League’s 10th victory in the past 11 All-Star Games — by swatting a fat splitter over the plate from Greene 413 feet and over the wall in right-center field. The home run was the first by a Red Sox player at an All-Star Game since Adrián González in 2011. The moment was indicative of the player Duran has become.

A seventh-round pick in 2018, Duran has dealt with injuries and mental health challenges to emerge as one of baseball’s most dynamic talents. The Long Beach State product is batting .284 with an .820 OPS, elite defense and premier baserunning in 95 games. He leads the majors with 10 triples and the AL with 27 doubles.

The combination of power, glove and speed has produced a 3.7 fWAR, tied for 10th in the majors, for a surging Red Sox club exceeding expectations in its pursuit of a playoff spot. On Tuesday, Duran’s power took center stage as he shined alongside the sport’s biggest stars.

“I’m just very thankful,” Duran said. “It’s hard to put into words. It won’t hit me until I try to go to sleep tonight. Who knows if I’ll be able to sleep tonight.”