He teased those themes \u2014 no big deal, but more to it behind the scenes that everybody else doesn\u2019t know \u2014 and declined to elaborate.<\/p>\n
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\u201cDuring the course of [a season], there\u2019s going to be different things that happen,\u201d Tracy said. \u201cIn our case, in our line of work, some of that stuff gets put on TV and it gets blown up.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Thursday, in the sixth inning of a tied game, Duran flied out to left field for the second out. Contreras, on third base, did not try to score on the medium-depth fly ball. Duran seemed frustrated on his way back to and in the dugout, waving his arms and shouting, while looking at third base.<\/p>\n
Since then, Duran had spoken with Contreras, Epperson, and Tracy, according to Tracy.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose two are in a great place,\u201d Tracy said of Contreras and Duran.<\/p>\n
How about Duran and Epperson?<\/p>\n
\u201cFine. Yeah, fine. And totally fine,\u201d Tracy said. \u201cAnd as far as some of the stuff being said about that, as far as oh, it\u2019s because he didn\u2019t tag \u2014 not necessarily true. And I\u2019m not going to get into it. It\u2019s our stuff, but they\u2019re perfectly fine. Actually, they spoke too. Perfectly fine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Why did Tracy not consider sitting Duran?<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a good player,\u201d he said. \u201cI just want him in there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Duran entered the day batting .195, worst among qualified hitters. His .589 OPS was second worst.<\/p>\n
Tracy rattled off baseball reasons for Duran to continue playing, including his defense, his production with runners in scoring position, and his ability to \u201cbunt against lefties.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJarren expects a lot out of himself. He\u2019s a really good baseball player that\u2019s having a rough go of it this year,\u201d Tracy said. \u201cI\u2019m still hoping that as we move along here, if we get another month like he had in the month of May, we get one more of those months, you look up and go, dang, that\u2019s a pretty, pretty productive season. I\u2019m still waiting for that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Late Thursday night, in the immediate aftermath<\/a>, Tracy said Duran was \u201cjust cursing himself.\u201d A day later, Tracy maintained that frustration with his own performance \u201cwas part of it too.\u201d And he spoke with Duran about now being so hard on himself.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a big part of it that\u2019s like, man, I didn\u2019t hit that ball deep enough,\u201d Tracy said. \u201cAnd that there was a chance to score a run that\u2019s part of it. There\u2019s other parts to it, but I\u2019ll keep those with us.\u201d<\/p>\n More memories<\/p>\n For Tracy, the trip to Dodger Stadium was a special occasion. He was 15 years old when his father, Jim Tracy, was hired to be the Dodgers\u2019 manager heading into the 2001 season, making this ballpark a landmark of his youth.<\/p>\n \u201cLove this place. A lot of cool, cool memories here,\u201d he said. \u201cThe first thing that comes to [mind is an] \u201904 walkoff for the division title. I could actually probably show you where I was sitting. Lost a pair of Oakleys. They fell off my head from the second deck to the lower deck. This place is awesome. So it\u2019s cool to be back.\u201d<\/p>\n Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who played for Jim Tracy\u2019s Dodgers in 2002-04, gave Chad Tracy a big hug when they met for the lineup card exchange at home plate.<\/p>\n In attendance Friday: One of Tracy\u2019s brothers, Brian, a scout for the Pirates who lives locally and came with his family.<\/p>\n Prospecting<\/p>\n The Red Sox\u2019 first two draft picks, shortstop Jake Schaffner and outfielder Owen Hull, will make their professional debuts Saturday with High-A Greenville. They remain teammates after playing together at the University of North Carolina \u2026 Righthander Anthony Eyanson \u2014 the Sox\u2019 top pitching prospect and, thus, one of their best trade chips \u2014 put on a show in his last start before the trade deadline. With Double-A Portland, he racked up 10 strikeouts (two walks) across 4\u2154 innings, allowing two runs \u2026 Shortstop Franklin Arias, the Sox\u2019 top-ranked prospect, played second base for the first time since being promoted to Triple-A Worcester a week ago. He played five games there in his final month with Portland.<\/p>\n Tim Healey can be reached at timothy.healey@globe.com<\/a>. Follow him @timbhealey<\/a>.<\/p>\n