BOSTON -- Caleb Durbin set off bedlam at Fenway Park on Monday night, serving up the latest magical moment of what is becoming one of the most storied runs in Red Sox history.
The scrappy third baseman jumped on a 1-0 cutter by righty reliever Tyler Wells with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, and hammered it high and deep over the Green Monster to break a tie in a see-saw contest between MLB’s two hottest teams.
Durbin’s 10th homer powered his Red Sox to a thrilling 6-5 victory over the Orioles for their 14th straight win, one shy of the club record set in 1946. Boston is 19-2 since June 25.
Boston's 14-game win streak is the longest in the Majors this year, with the Cubs having enjoyed two 10-game win streaks. The last team to win 14 in a row was the Brewers, who did so last August. No team has won 15 in a row since the Cardinals, who won 17 straight in September 2021.
“This is fun,” said Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras. “We are playing good baseball. We are pitching. We're playing defense. We are hitting. We're taking good at-bats, getting good pitching and we're not taking it for granted.”
Boston’s latest victory -- played in front of a revved-up, packed house of 37,659 -- snapped a seven-game winning streak for the Orioles.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, this was the fifth time in the Expansion Era (since 1961) that two teams faced off while each sported at least a seven-game winning streak.
Here were the moments that mattered most on Monday.
1. Durbin as hot as his team
It was fitting that Durbin hit the go-ahead shot. He has been a key cog for several weeks after a brutal slump to start the season. But since May 28, Durbin got hot and hasn’t cooled off, slashing .304/.353/.551 over his last 44 games and 158 at-bats, compiling 10 doubles, nine homers and 26 RBIs.
“In the beginning for me, I knew that wasn't me,” said Durbin. “I felt like if I could turn things around, it'd make a big difference. And that was when weighing on me heavily. That added extra motivation to get right. And I'm glad I was able to. And, you know, it's been a fun ride so far.”
2. Red Sox make O’s pay for miscues
One of the common themes during this stretch for the Red Sox is the consistent ability to take advantage of mistakes by the opponent. The Orioles saw this firsthand in a Boston rally that shouldn’t have happened in the third inning. Second baseman Jeremiah Jackson made a throwing error that allowed Ceddanne Rafaela to reach with the bases empty and two outs.
Wilyer Abreu then stepped up next and hammered an RBI double to the alley in left-center, with Rafaela scoring all the way from first to break a 1-1 tie. Not only that, but Gunnar Henderson's error at the end of the play allowed Abreu to reach third. That put Abreu in position to score when Henderson couldn’t corral a liner by Contreras that went as an RBI infield single.
3. Tolle strong before tiring in sixth
A key storyline to watch down the stretch is how rookie rotation members Payton Tolle, Jake Bennett and Connelly Early (currently on the injured list) respond as they close in on career-high totals in innings. At 89 2/3 innings, Tolle is less than 20 innings shy of the career-high total of 108 in his first season of pro ball in 2025.
Tolle had a 3-2 lead through five, but he appeared to fatigue just a bit when the O’s touched him up for two runs to move back ahead at 4-3.
The Fenway faithful appreciated the effort by Tolle, who gave up eight hits and four runs while walking one and striking out nine in 5 2/3 innings.
“We're picking each other up and playing team baseball, and it's contagious,” said Tolle. “And whenever you're in a place like Fenway and the crowd gets bumping like it does, it's something special.”