BOSTON — Jarren Duran was running to third base when he realized he needed to pick up the pace again and head for home.

Duran’s inside-the-park homer Sunday, a three-run shot, gave Boston the lead in the fifth inning and helped the Red Sox avert a three-game sweep with a 5-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates at Fenway Park.

With Carlos Narvaez on third and Alex Bregman on first, Duran lined the first pitch from starter Mitch Keller into the right-center gap.

The ball got past right fielder Alexander Canario, who tried to cut it off, and rolled into the Fenway triangle. Then it caromed off the side wall of Boston’s bullpen and briefly got past center fielder Oneil Cruz near the 420-foot sign in right-center.

As the crowd roared, the speedy Duran raced around third and easily beat a wide relay throw to the plate standing up.

“When I was starting to round second, I was like, OK, I’ve got to make sure I get to three,” Duran said. “I thought I was going to be standing up [at third]. I found myself kind of lay back a little bit, then [third base coach Kyle Hudson] came back to me waving and I was like, ‘I’ve got to get going again.'”

It was the second inside-the-park homer by the Red Sox at Fenway Park this season. Wilyer Abreu hit one on June 30 and became the sixth player in major league history with a grand slam and an inside-the-park homer in the same game.

“I was just happy I didn’t have to slide after all,” Duran said. “I was like, this is going to be more of a fall than a slide.”

Duran’s inside-the-park shot was the first of his career.

“Everybody’s doing the same thing in the dugout,” Boston manager Alex Cora said, comparing his players and coaches to the cheering crowd.

“We become fans. Everybody’s loud, everybody’s sending him.”

HOUSTON — Los Angeles Angels outfielder Taylor Ward was carted off the field after crashing face-first into the metal scoreboard in left field trying to make a catch in the eighth inning Sunday against the Houston Astros.

Ward was sprinting to try to make the catch on a double hit by Ramon Urias before running into the wall and being knocked to the ground. He quickly got up but immediately signaled for help. Someone came out of the bullpen and handed him a towel, which he pressed to his face.

Angels personnel quickly ran to him and he stood in the outfield as they and paramedics tended to him.

He was bleeding and appeared to have a cut above his right eye. He held a smaller cloth to his head as he was slowly carted off the field while resting his head on the shoulder of a team employee who rode the cart with him.

Ward was taken to a hospital by ambulance where interim manager Ray Montgomery said he would receive stitches to close the cut and be evaluated.

“Obviously he hit the wall pretty good,” Montgomery said. “He’s got a cut above his eye.”

Montgomery said he didn’t know if Ward had been evaluated for a concussion.

Fellow Angels outfielder Jo Adell said the team was shaken up by Ward’s injury and that a wall like that is a danger to players.

“The bottom line, and I’ve talked about this before, but there should be no out-of-town metal scoreboard anywhere on the baseball field,” Adell said. “It’s the big leagues. Like this is ridiculous. A guy goes back to make a play, and he’s got to worry about a metal fence. That’s crazy.”

Christian Moore entered the game to play second base after Ward left, while Luis Rengifo moved from second base to left field.

BOSTON — All-Star closer Aroldis Chapman and the Boston Red Sox finalized a $13.3 million, one-year contract for 2026 that includes a 2027 vesting option.

Chapman will be guaranteed $26 million over two years if he pitches at least 40 innings next season. The team announced the deal Sunday following a 5-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates at Fenway Park.

Chapman, who earned his eighth All-Star selection this season, gets a $13 million salary next year. If the left-hander reaches 40 innings in 2026, he gets a $13 million salary again in 2027. If not, he would receive a $300,000 buyout unless both sides accept a mutual option, which would be unlikely.

The 37-year-old Chapman is having perhaps his best year, with a career-low 1.02 ERA during his 16th major league season and first in Boston. He converted his 27th save Sunday.

“This guy has been great for us, and not only on the field,” manager Alex Cora said before the game. “What he’s done on the field is amazing.”

After earning his 350th career save this season, the hard-throwing Chapman said his goal was to reach 400.

He extended his career-best hitless streak Sunday to 15 games, the longest in club history and tied for the third longest in the majors since 1901. Toronto’s Sergio Santos was the last to go that long, in 2013.

Chapman has 76 strikeouts in 53 innings this season. He hasn’t given up a hit to the past 44 batters he has faced.

Chapman is 59-47 with a 2.52 ERA and 362 saves for the Reds (2010-15), Yankees (2016-22), Cubs (2016), Royals (2023), Rangers (2023), Pirates (2024) and Red Sox (2025). He ranks third in strikeouts by a relief pitcher (1,322) and 13th on the career saves list.