Jarren Duran’s home run breaks the game open as the Red Sox finish with a rout of the Royals

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As he watched the orb soar into the Kansas City night, Jarren Duran leaned hard to his left, begging for the orb’s cooperation.

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The Red Sox, who’d been held to three or fewer runs in nine straight games, once again were trying to scrape just enough offense to back a dominant pitching effort. They held a 3-1 lead in the top of the ninth inning, but with two on and two outs, Duran had a chance to blow the game open.

He crushed an offering from Royals reliever Eli Morgan down the right-field line — plenty of distance, but with an uncertain position relative to the foul pole. He tipped his torso while waiting to see the ball’s trajectory.

“A lot of prayers in that lean,” he said.

The ball stayed true for a three-run homer, the key smash in a four-run ninth that allowed the Sox to enjoy an unusually comfortable 7-1 win at Kauffman Stadium.

Duran’s fifth homer this year was an appropriate punctuation for a spectacular reminder of his dynamic abilities. In addition to the three RBIs, he went 2 for 3 with the homer, a double, a pair of walks, a stolen base, two runs scored, and two standout catches.

The contest added to the recent evidence of an uptick in walks and hard contact to all fields that the leadoff hitter might be emerging from a season-long funk. The Sox embraced the possibility.

“When he gets going, I think sky’s the limit for this team. We’ve kind of just been waiting,” said Isiah Kiner-Falefa (3 for 3 with a walk). “[He’s] coming around. … If he can keep this up, who knows where we can be in a month or two?”

Duran kickstarted the Sox offense in the first against Royals starter Bailey Falter, drawing a leadoff walk, stealing second, and scoring on an RBI single by Willson Contreras (six RBIs in his last four games) for a 1-0 lead.

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The Royals punched back for a game-tying run off Ranger Suarez in the bottom of the first, capitalizing on the lefthander’s uncharacteristic lack of command. What did he have working for him Tuesday?

“Nada. Nada,” he rued.

Still, after a Caleb Durbin RBI single gave the Sox a 2-1 lead in the top of the second, Suarez settled to make the one-run advantage hold up in a labor-intensive outing. Despite atypical control woes that elevated his pitch count, Suarez held the Royals scoreless in the second through fourth innings.

He nearly faltered in the fifth, but was bailed out by his bullpen, a Royals blunder, and a run-saving defensive play. After nine-hole hitter Carter Jensen led off the inning with a double, Maikel Garcia followed with a single to right. But when Wilyer Abreu —despite Jensen holding — airmailed the cutoff man and threw to the plate, Garcia attempted to take second. The decision proved unwise, and he was cut down easily by Sox catcher Carlos Narváez for the first out.

Manager Chad Tracy pulled Suarez after 81 pitches. Reliever Zack Kelly got Bobby Witt Jr. to fly to shallow right, with Jensen unable to score. Then with two outs, Salvador Perez smoked a ball to deep left, right at but over Duran’s head and into the lights — an immensely difficult read. Duran, who earlier made a sliding catch, quickly recovered from a false first step, raced toward the fence, and made a leaping, contorting catch to retire Perez for the third out.

“I’m just trying to play some good defense for my pitchers. I always hold my hat on that,” said Duran. “If my bat’s not going to be there, I want to make sure I’m playing good defense.”

Suarez allowed one run in 4⅓ innings, lowering his ERA to 2.40 for the year, and 1.11 in his last seven starts. But his short outing forced the Sox bullpen to cover 14 outs.

They did just that, in brilliant fashion. Kelly was followed by scoreless innings from Tyler Samaniego, Justin Slaten, and Garrett Whitlock, holding the game in check until Duran and the Sox blew it open in the ninth. That late eruption provided Aroldis Chapman with a night off, as Jovani Morán struck out the side to seal a series win.

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