Caleb

Durbin

The recovery from the procedure isn’t expected to interfere with Durbin’s regular offseason routine and he should be ready for the start of spring training. The 26-year-old infielder hit .248/.332/.378 with 13 homers, 64 RBI and 20 stolen bases over 586 plate appearances in his first season with the Red Sox.

Contreras is at first base and hitting third as Boston kicks off postseason play after missing eight of their final nine regular-season contests with a right hand injury. Here’s the full lineup set to battle Yankees ace Cam Schlittler: Roman Anthony (DH), Adley Rutschman (C), Contreras (1B), Wilyer Abreu (RF), Ceddanne Rafaela (CF), Nick Sogard (2B), Jarren Duran (LF), Trevor Story (SS) and Caleb Durbin (3B).

Durbin picked up his 13th homer, his 18th steal and his 13th and 14th HBPs. He’s batting .250/.332/.386, which is a near match from his .256/.334/.387 line in Milwaukee last year.

Durbin takes a seat as his struggles at the dish continue. He’s batting just .191 (9-for-47) over his last 15 games and has just 2 hits in 22 at-bats over his last seven contests. He was insanely hot for most of the summer, but has run into a cold stretch recently. It’ll be Nick Sogard at third base in this one.

This was a weak showing for the Red Sox’s lineup as they were shutout by the Marlins in a loss that snapped their five-game win streak. They had just five hits and none went for extra bases. Durbin got his though with two knocks as he stayed scorching hot with a .324/.395/.417 slash-line over his last 30 games.

It appears to be a routine day off for Durbin with Nick Sogard getting a look at third base. The Red Sox are going to have some hard decisions in the near future with both Trevor Story and Isiah Kiner-Falefa close to returning from the injured list. That’s presumably why Sogard is getting the additional playing time in this case.

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.

Like most hitters in the Red Sox’ lineup, Durbin has been sizzling of late, slashing .367/.448/.510 with a homer, 10 RBI and three stolen bases in 60 plate appearances over his last 13 contests. Anthony Seigler will start in his place at third base and will bat sixth for the Red Sox on Sunday afternoon in Boston.

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.