Caleb Durbin getting a breather on Sunday

It was a tight game throughout until Durbin’s slam gave Boston a 5-0 lead in the eighth. Durbin now has two grand slams in nine days after going his first 240 career games without one. He’s totaled 11 homers and 37 RBI in his last 55 games after opening his Red Sox career with one homer and 23 RBI through his first 59 games.

Contreras was pulled early from Wednesday’s game and then sat out Thursday’s epic marathon against the White Sox while feeling under the weather. He’ll get another day to rest on Friday. If he doesn’t improve as the weekend progresses though, the Red Sox may have to consider a backdated stint on the injured list. Nick Sogard will again will in for him at first base while Anthony Seigler starts at second base and will bat eighth against A’s right-hander Jack Perkins.

The Red Sox tied the game in the fourth, ninth, 10th, 11th and 12th innings before finally holding the White Sox scoreless in the 13th and winning afterwards. Long before Durbin’s game-winning hit, he appeared to reinjure his left pinkie on a hard-first slide at second, but he was able to continue. He originally suffered a partial dislocation of the finger on a head-first slide into first on June 24. Durbin finished the three-game sweep of the White Sox 6-for-13 with a homer, six RBI and two walks. His OPS currently stands at .730. On this day a month ago, it was .670. Two months ago it was .553.

Durbin has 11 homers and 13 steals on the year, so a 20/20 season is in play in spite of his rough start. He’s up to .247/.318/.405 in 392 plate appearances, and he’s probably the favorite to claim the American League Gold Glove at third base.

It’s the worst-case scenario outcome for Mead after he was drilled by a pitch during the second at-bat of his Red Sox debut against the Athletics on Monday night. The 25-year-old infielder was acquired from the Nationals for lefty Connelly Early last week and is already facing an extended absence. There’s a strong possibility his season is over given the severity of the injury. Cassell adds that Nick Sogard is coming up from Triple-A Worcester to take Mead’s roster spot. It’ll be Caleb Durbin handling third base with Anthony Seigler moving back into a starting role at the keystone.

You can’t make this stuff up. Mead was replaced by Anthony Seigler at second base a couple frames after being drilled by a pitch on the left hand during his second at-bat in a Red Sox uniform after striking out in his first plate appearance. He’ll undergo X-rays to determine whether he suffered any fractures. There should be an update on his status shortly.

Seigler started the bottom of the first with a leadoff homer off Trey Yesavage and just kept going from there. He had been hitting just .172/.246/.276 in 15 games since the Red Sox moved him to the leadoff spot at the end of June, though with the way the team has played, there wasn’t much reason to move him back down. He’s at .273/.336/.455 with three homers in 111 plate appearances overall.

Durbin was 0-for-3 before putting a Tyler Wells offering over the Green Monster for his 10th homer of the year. He’s hit nine in his last 33 games after collecting just one in 59 games through June 9. The Red Sox are now one win away from matching their franchise-long winning streak of 15 games from 1946.

Seigler has settled in as the Red Sox’ everyday second baseman and leadoff hitter over the past couple of weeks, but he’ll get a breather in this one. Romy Gonzalez will start in his place and bat sixth against Rays’ left-hander Shane McClanahan on Sunday afternoon at Fenway Park.

Sure, why not. Durbin has been on a roll over the last few weeks, hitting .290 (27-for-93) with eight round-trippers in 26 games since a two-homer outburst back on June 10. He’ll get a chance in place of Romy Gonzalez, who is on the bench in this one, with Willson Contreras continuing to serve a five-game suspension through the All-Star break.