Jarren Duran and the Boston Red Sox will look to remain hot Friday when they open a three-game series against the visiting Milwaukee Brewers.
The Red Sox are coming off six-game road trip that ended with four straight wins, including a three-game sweep against Tampa Bay. The Red Sox had lost three of four to the Rays from May 13-16 before going on the road.
"We played well against them (the Rays) last week, we just didn't win the games," Boston manager Alex Cora said. "... We did a lot of good things throughout the road trip. We put the ball in play and it started in St. Louis. Infield hit, infield hit and we score a bunch.
"In this business, everybody wants to hit the ball out of the ballpark. In certain moments, you have to put the ball in play. ... We're going to keep preaching that."
Duran went 1-for-5 in Wednesday's 8-5 victory over Tampa Bay to extend his hitting streak to eight games. He has two home runs and two triples during that stretch. Duran leads the team in base hits with 55 this season.
Boston had four stolen bases in a 5-2 victory over Tampa Bay on Tuesday and collected five singles in a five-run fifth inning during Wednesday's 8-5 win.
"They changed the rules for this type of baseball," Cora said. "It's not that we're gonna run crazy out there, but you need athletic guys to win it and to be competitive at this level. Why? Because not all the time you're going to hit. You're not going to hit the ball out of the ballpark all the time, but you can do the other stuff. You can play defense every day. And speed is not going to slump."
Milwaukee has lost three of four and was held to four hits in Wednesday's 1-0 loss to Miami. Marlins starter Jesus Luzardo limited Milwaukee to three hits in eight innings.
"You give up one run in eight innings of pitching, you plan on winning the game," Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy said. "(Luzardo) was great. We didn't get on him at all. He was all over us all night ahead in the count. Pitched great.
"We couldn't come up with the big hit at the big time, but again, credit their guy. ... Every team in Major League Baseball can beat every team in Major League Baseball. We've learned that over time."
Friday's pitching matchup features a pair of right-handers in Milwaukee's Bryse Wilson (2-1, 2.79 ERA) and Boston's Kutter Crawford (2-2, 2.17).
Wilson has no record in three career appearances (one start) against Boston. He has allowed five runs on eight hits in 6 1/3 innings against the Red Sox.
Crawford allowed one hit and struck out two in two innings of relief during his only career appearance against the Brewers on April 22, 2023. He did not factor in the decision.
Boston will play 15 of its next 22 games at home.
This article first appeared on Field Level Media and was syndicated with permission.
