"It's like I've been a kid away at college and I'm coming home. I could not love this city more. I come back all the time to visit friends. I plead for Red Sox games every time we have them. It just makes me so happy to walk into Fenway and see familiar faces - the security guys, the clubbies are for the most part still there from my time - and hear 'Sweet Caroline' in the eighth inning. It brings back a flood of memories."
In the bottom of the fifth inning with the game tied at one run apiece, Duran shot a line drive ball into right-center field which rolled into Fenway Park's triangle. The ball ended up 420 feet away from home plate after the Pirates' outfielders struggled to secure it. An off-line throw to home by Pittsburgh allowed Duran to cross the plate standing up. The 28-year-old notched his first career inside-the-park home run to give Boston a 4-1 lead at the time.
Sorting out draft orders ahead of the NFL season has been an annual (and often elaborate) tradition at the end of every summer, with the Red Sox chipping golf balls off the Green Monster last season in order to determine the draft order. This time around, the Red Sox called upon Varitek to be the primary determinant in their fantasy football fortunes. As captured on video by Tim Healey of The Boston Globe, Varitek mapped out Boston's draft order by taking batting practice at Fenway.
The walkout, which union leaders say is the first in Fenway Park's 113-year history, follows more than a year of contract negotiations and months of escalating frustration over pay, job security, and automation.