The Boston Red Sox beat the Athletics 5-4 on Thursday night to secure their seventh consecutive series win. But it was struggling Red Sox left fielder Jarren Duran who stole the spotlight for yet another on-field incident.

With the game tied at three, the 29-year-old Duran stepped to the plate in the top of the sixth inning with Willson Contreras on third base and Masataka Yoshida on second, with only one out. After swinging through an 89 mph cutter from Athletics reliever Scott Blewett to go down 0-1, Duran sent a center-cut cutter lazily out to left field; A's left fielder Tyler Soderstrom made the catch 245 feet from home plate for the second out as both runners stayed put. 

However, as Duran headed back to the dugout, NESN cameras caught him seemingly shouting out to Contreras that he should have tagged up on the play. The shouting continued as Duran was again caught yelling out to the field from inside the dugout. 

It is worth noting that Contreras ranks in the 42nd percentile in sprint speed, while Soderstrom's arm strength ranks in the 89th percentile. 

"He was just cursing himself," said interim manager Chad Tracy in an effort to downplay the situation. "Just upset with himself for not getting the run in," he continued. Duran took a more combative approach when asked about the situation, "That's nothing," he said. "It's something within the team that we have, and we work on...You guys don't need to know, nobody needs to know," he continued. 

Contreras, like Tracy, downplayed the interaction, telling MassLive.com's Christopher Smith it was "nothing personal." 

Duran has been no stranger to creating distractions both on and off the field throughout his entire major league career. In 2022, the then-25-year-old was seen shouting back and forth with fans at Kansas City's Kauffman Stadium after misplaying two fly balls. Duran's most well-known fan incident came in 2024 when he was caught on a hot mic shouting a homophobic slur at a heckling fan at Fenway Park, causing the team to suspend him for one game. In 2025, while the team was in Cleveland, he again got into a shouting match with a fan after the fan heckled him about his battle with mental health.

In 2026, though, it has become more than a theme, first with the 29-year-old making an explicit gesture to a fan while the team was in Minnesota, then he again got into a verbal back-and-forth with fans during the Red Sox series at Fenway Park with the Yankees in late June. And now, on Thursday night, showing up the team's best player and emotional leader with a lazy fly ball to left field. 

Along with his antics, Duran has been one of baseball's worst hitters, ranking in the bottom 10 among 148 qualified hitters in batting average (.195, 148th), on-base percentage (.252, 147th), slugging percentage (.337, 141st), and OPS (.589). 

When the Red Sox optioned starter Brayan Bello to Triple-A Worcester on June 5, it was after a disastrous performance against the Baltimore Orioles in which he allowed six first inning runs, raising his ERA in the first inning to 16.88, all while getting caught by cameras showing up catcher Carlos Narvaez by shooing him away during a mound visit.  

The 29-year-old has two options remaining, could the Red Sox reach the same breaking point with Duran that they reached with Bello after his start against Baltimore, sending him to Worcester to not only work on whatever is ailing him at the plate, but also take a step back and "rediscover his love of baseball"? 

There is also the now impending return of Roman Anthony, who began swinging on Thursday as he works his way back from a torn ligament in his right ring finger. When Anthony finally returns to the lineup, so too will the well-documented outfield logjam. Could Breslow get proactive and finally move Duran, who has seen his name in trade rumors for years, acquiring a designated hitter/left fielder in the process? It's possible, though, as noted by ESPN's Jeff Passan, Duran's value "isn't very high" across the league. 

The Red Sox will head to Los Angeles for a three-game weekend set with the reigning World Series Champion Dodgers. Ranger Suarez (4-3, 3.02 ERA) will get the start for Boston opposite Edgardo Henriquez (4-1, 2.79 ERA) for Los Angeles. First pitch from Dodger Stadium is set for 10:10 p.m. ET.