One of the Boston Red Sox's greatest advantages in 2024 was their speed on the base paths. Their inconsistent offense has prevented them from showing the same skill in 2025 until the second game of their April 26 doubleheader in Cleveland.
In the third inning, Jarren Duran laced a triple to right field to score Carlos Narváez for Boston's fifth run. Duran didn't feel like waiting for Rafael Devers to hit him home, so he took matters into his own hands.
Doug Nikhazy lifted his foot to begin his windup and Duran took off from third base. As the ball landed in Bo Naylor's glove, he and Duran simultaneously dove toward the plate. The speedy Duran swiped his hand under Naylor's tag and completed the third steal of home plate in his career. Boston went on to win, 7-3.
Romy González and Kristian Campbell also flashed savvy baserunning in the series against Cleveland. The latter walked and quickly reached third base on a single from Carlos Narváez in the second inning of Sunday's tilt. Ceddanne Rafaela followed and lifted a shallow flyout to center fielder Angel Martínez. Campbell debated tagging up to score, but as Martínez threw to the cutoff man in the infield, the ball bounced off his glove to give Campbell just enough time to bolt home.
JARREN DURAN STEALS HOME 🤯 pic.twitter.com/mnWJPQ5HUR
— MLB (@MLB) April 26, 2025
Campbell later knocked a two-run single in the fifth inning, which advanced González to third base. The rookie wasn't satisfied on first base and sprinted to second for a steal. Naylor fired the ball to second base to try and catch Campbell, which afforded González a perfect window to score from third base.
Campbell wasn't done running, though. He ended up on third base after second baseman Daniel Schneeman's wide throw to Naylor at the plate. He later scored on a ground-rule double by Rafaela.
Red Sox can make up for their hot-and-cold offense with their speed on the bases
The Red Sox's bats were hot in Cleveland — they collected 33 hits in the three-game series at Progressive Field — but they remembered how good they can be at manufacturing runs. Last season, on June 16, Boston stole a franchise record nine bases against the Yankees, which led to a 9-3 win and wins in seven of its next eight games.
The 2025 Red Sox rank second in MLB in strikeouts (277), and they've fanned 82 times with runners in scoring position. Aggressive baserunning and manufacturing runs without hits could be critical to Boston's success if the offense remains as streaky as it's been. For example, Trevor Story was one of the Sox's hottest hitters for most of April, but went 1-for-25 from April 22-27. Conversely, Rafael Devers found his footing again in Cleveland. He logged five hits, two of them homers, on the series, but he's struggled to contribute all season, to the tune of a .216/.350/.396 slash line over 30 games.
Speed is one of Boston's most consistent qualities. Duran, Rafaela, Story, González and David Hamilton are all dangerous on the bases, and Wilyer Abreu even has four steals under his belt. If the Red Sox can maintain their aggressive baserunning from their matchup with the Guardians, they can cash in even when their offense isn't firing on all cylinders, which it's struggled to do in their first 30 games.