Boston’s Jarren Duran is greeted near home plate by Enrique Hernandez after hitting a grand slam off Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Kyle Bradish in the third inning Tuesday night in Baltimore. Julio Cortez/Associated Press
BALTIMORE — Jarren Duran’s drive to center field was hit plenty hard, and he figured he had a chance for extra bases.
“I didn’t really think it was going out,” Duran said. “I thought it was really low so I was just trying to get on three, or at least on second.”
Duran didn’t have to worry about sprinting around the bases after his line drive cleared the wall for a grand slam in the third inning. And after the Boston Red Sox withstood a five-run ninth by Baltimore, they could enjoy an 8-6 win Tuesday night that snapped the Orioles’ seven-game winning streak.
Boston led 8-1 heading into the bottom of the ninth before the Orioles rallied with a leadoff homer by Gunnar Henderson and a one-out grand slam by Cedric Mullins. Kenley Jansen came on and retired the final two hitters for his sixth save.
It was the first time in major league history that opposing center fielders hit grand slams in the same game, according to OptaSTATS.
Corey Kluber (1-4) pitched six innings and won for the first time in 10 starts, a drought that dated to last season when the two-time Cy Young winner was with Tampa Bay. Like Chris Sale the night before, Kluber didn’t have big strikeout numbers, but unlike Sale, he limited the Orioles to four singles and a solo homer by Jorge Mateo in the fifth.
“He’s a stud,” Duran said. “He’s done it for so many years, it doesn’t surprise me when he goes out there and carves like he did.”
Kyle Bradish (1-1) lasted only 2 1/3 innings, giving up seven runs. A double play got him out of the first after two walks, but a one-out walk in the second started a three-run rally.
“I don’t really want to talk about it. I don’t want to give it away because we might face him again,” Duran said. “We had a really good approach, and I thought we stayed really good with the plan.”
Duran doubled and Christian Arroyo singled home a run. Then Reese McGuire hit an RBI single to make it 2-0. Rafael Devers added a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded.
The next time the Red Sox loaded the bases — on three straight singles to start the third — Duran hit his drive over the wall in center for his first homer of the year.
“On a line too, right?” Cora said. “He’s in a good place offensively.”
The 26-year-old Duran went 3 for 4 to raise his average to .387. He scored on McGuire’s run-scoring groundout in the eighth to make it 8-1.
NOTES: Boston put INF Yu Chang (broken hand) on the 10-day injured list and recalled utilityman Enmanuel Valdez from Triple-A Worcester. … Arroyo exited the game in the fifth with right hamstring tightness.
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