Caleb Durbin goes 3-for-4, hits fifth home run

Where did that come from? Both homers were no doubters to left, with the first checking in at 415 feet. That’s 29 feet farther than his previous long fly this year. The 107.7 mph it left the bat at was also a season high. It’s Durbin’s first two-homer game as a major leaguer. He’s hit .341 with eight extra-base hits in his last 12 games, so playing time is no longer a question for him at the moment. He still might offer some fantasy value in deeper leagues.

All nine batters in Boston’s lineup recorded at least one hit. Meanwhile, the performance extended Durbin’s hit streak to six games. It’s still been a trying season for the former Brewer, but it’s a start. Durbin has one home run and is 5-for-7 on the bases heading into Thursday’s matinee.

Caleb Durbin will bat ninth as Sogard sits for the first time in the last six games against RHP Slade Cecconi. Sogard is off to a .273/.368/.394 start and figures to keep getting chances so long as Durbin remains ice cold.

Durbin got the Red Sox on the board in the fourth inning with an RBI double off of Chris Sale. He then raced around to score on a run-scoring single off the bat of Jarren Duran. That would be the extent of the Red Sox’ offense in the game though. It has been a miserable season offensively for the 26-year-old infielder, slashing a meager .172/.247/.252 with just one homer, 17 RBI and four stolen bases in 168 plate appearances.

Kiner-Falefa thought he had his first homer Sunday, a potential three-run walkoff blast against the Twins. Instead, it turned out to be a wall-scraper on a wet day in Boston and the Red Sox came up a run short in a 6-5 loss. He did get his first homer tonight, taking Dylan Lee deep in the seventh after Lee went his first 24 1/3 innings this year without allowing a homer. He also singled in two runs in another ninth-inning rally that came up just short in a 7-6 loss. Kiner-Falefa is up to .278/.350/.370 for the season, so he’s likely looking at additional playing time in the short term. That’s more bad news for Caleb Durbin.

Nick Sogard is playing third base and batting ninth on Monday. Despite Durbin’s struggles at the plate this season, he has been tremendous defensively for a Red Sox team that spent the off season adding ground ball pitchers to its rotation. As a result, we imagine this will be more of a mini reset for Durbin, rather than the Red Sox making a change at third base.

It has been a very rough season for the Red Sox’ third baseman, as Durbin has flailed to a hapless .169/.252/.250 slash line with only one home run, 14 RBI and four stolen bases in 152 plate appearances. Nick Sogard will start in his place at the hot corner and will bat ninth against Braves’ right-hander Grant Holmes.

He wound have had a second steal, but the pitcher balked as Durbin was in the process of taking third base. It was a good night for the struggling hitter, though. Durbin’s 105.9-mph double off Jack Flaherty barely missed being his hardest-hit ball of the year, and he had another hard-hit grounder in the ninth. He’s at .178/.260/.263 with four steals on the year.

Durbin is 2-for-18 in his last five games, and his debut season with the Red Sox has not gone as expected. Andruw Monasterio will play third base and bat ninth, and Durbn can be dropped in all 12-team leagues and shallower.

Durbin has had a rough go to begin his tenure with the Red Sox, batting .169 with a .260 OBP through Sunday. He’s now up to three steals and remains a regular in the Boston lineup, starting at third base in all but three games this season. The former Brewer went 18-for-24 on SB attempts as a rookie.