Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora kept things PG when he tweeted out “Wow” as his reaction to Jarren’s Duran decisive home run in Tuesday’s MLB All-Star Game.
But as it turned out, Cora toned down his reaction for the social media crowd. Cora revealed he actually used another one-word response, this one with four letters, when he watched Duran belt a pitch from Cincinnati Reds flamethrower Hunter Greene well over the fence at Globe Life Field.
“I dropped an F-bomb,” Cora told reporters prior to Boston’s series opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers, per The Boston Globe’s Julian McWilliams.
Duran’s timely homer earned him All-Star MVP honors, but aside from pimping the blast, he didn’t do any showboating after the fact. The 27-year-old Red Sox outfielder remained humble and made sure to praise several members of the Red Sox coaching staff, which touched Cora.
“It means a lot,” Cora said. “I was texting with (former Red Sox hitting coach) Tim (Hyers), and the way (Duran) conducted himself both days and giving praise to the hitting group and (third base/outfield coach) Kyle Hudson. I mean, it was amazing. He put a good swing on it. I am so very proud of him.”
Duran carried the momentum from his All-Star Game performance into Boston’s first contest after the break by going 2-for-4 with a solo shot Friday night in a 4-1 loss against the Dodgers.
Duran is now batting .286 with 11 home runs and 42 RBIs to go along with an .831 OPS. He’ll look to keep that up over the second half of the season while also providing some more memorable moments, which perhaps will draw the same explicit reaction from Cora.