Jarren Duran powers Red Sox past Royals, 7-1, snapping offensive drought

The Red Sox finally showed signs of life offensively Tuesday night.

Boston got a complete all-around performance from Jarren Duran, who crushed a three-run homer in the ninth inning and made two great defensive plays in left field, helping power the Red Sox to a 7-1 win over the Royals at Kauffman Stadium.

Perhaps most importantly for the Red Sox, it marked the first time since May 7 that Boston scored more than three runs in a game.

Duran finished 2-for-3 and nearly added a triple in the fifth inning when he hammered a 95.6 mph four-seam fastball from Luinder Avila 392 feet to center field for a double. The speedy outfielder, however, was thrown out trying to stretch it into three bases after a perfect relay from the Royals defense.

The Sox' left fielder also flashed the glove throughout the night.

In the second inning, he made a terrific diving catch on Nick Loftin’s 276-foot, 95.8 mph liner to left field.

Then in the fifth inning, with the potential tying run standing at third base, Duran tracked down Salvador Perez’s 364-foot, 101.9-mph drive and made a leaping catch near the wall to preserve Boston’s lead and end the inning.

Boston jumped out to an immediate 1-0 lead against opener Bailey Falter in the top of the first inning.

Duran worked a leadoff walk and quickly stole his 10th base of the season, putting himself into scoring position for Wilyer Abreu, who followed with a one-out RBI single.

The Red Sox looked poised to add more when Willson Contreras singled to put two runners aboard with one out, but Andruw Monasterio grounded into an inning-ending double play on the very next pitch.

Caleb Durbin, who entered the night hitting just .165 and had not started either Sunday or Monday, returned to the lineup Tuesday and delivered an RBI single in the second inning to give Boston a 2-1 lead.

Boston scored both early runs against Falter, who served as Kansas City’s opener and worked two innings.

Ranger Suarez saw his streak of 19 consecutive scoreless innings come to an end during a lengthy bottom of the first inning as Kansas City immediately answered to tie the game.

But that lone run proved to be the only damage the Royals would manage all night.

Despite battling command issues early, Suarez grinded through 4 1/3 innings while allowing just one run on four hits. The left-hander walked three, struck out three, and threw 81 pitches, only 46 for strikes.

Suarez needed 32 pitches just to survive the first inning, but gradually settled in before turning things over to Boston’s bullpen.

The veteran lefty continues to be one of the biggest bright spots in the Red Sox rotation. Over his last seven starts, Suarez has allowed just five earned runs across 40 1/3 innings, good for a sparkling 1.12 ERA.

Overall this season, Suarez owns a 2.40 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, and has held opponents to a .202 batting average across nine starts.

Boston clung to a narrow lead for most of the night before finally breaking things open late.

Ceddanne Rafaela led off the eighth inning with a double and advanced to third on Abreu’s lineout. Contreras then brought him home with a groundout to third base, extending the lead to 3-1.

The Red Sox broke the game wide open in the ninth.

Nick Sogard opened the inning with a single off Eli Morgan before Isiah Kiner-Falefa and pinch-hitter Mickey Gasper followed with back-to-back one-out singles. Gasper’s hit resulted in Sogard being thrown out at home plate on a strong throw from right fielder Jac Caglianone.

Moments later, Duran crushed his fifth home run of the season into the right-field seats, doubling Boston’s lead to 6-1.

Three consecutive singles from Rafaela, Abreu, and Contreras later added another run before Morgan finally escaped the inning.

Left-hander Jovani Morán handled the ninth inning instead of Aroldis Chapman and quickly slammed the door on Kansas City.

Tyler Samaniego’s streak of 13 consecutive scoreless appearances to begin his major league career had been the second-longest such streak in Red Sox history before the rookie left-hander surrendered Kyle Schwarber’s two-run homer in Philadelphia last week and later allowed Mike Yastrzemski’s walk-off double in Atlanta.

Boston’s bullpen, however, continued to settle in nicely Tuesday night.

Justin Slaten tossed a perfect seventh inning, extending his season-opening streak to nine consecutive scoreless appearances. Garrett Whitlock followed with a dominant eighth inning, needing only seven pitches, all strikes, to retire the side.

Boston finished with 15 hits, drew four walks, and went 6-for-14 with runners in scoring position while leaving seven men on base.

The victory snapped two ugly offensive streaks for the Red Sox: nine consecutive games scoring three runs or fewer and nine straight games with no more than one hit with runners in scoring position.

The Red Sox and Royals will wrap up their three-game series Wednesday night at Kauffman Stadium. Left-hander Connelly Early (3-2, 3.21 ERA) is scheduled to start for Boston against Royals veteran right-hander Michael Wacha (4-2, 2.83 ERA).