Third baseman Caleb Durbin is hot, but the same can’t be said for the Boston Red Sox.
Boston will enter its Friday night home game against the Texas Rangers, the opener of a three-game series, looking to end a four-game losing streak. Most recently, the Red Sox fell 7-5 at Tampa Bay on Wednesday, when Durbin went 3-for-4 and homered twice.
Durbin struggled at the plate for most of the season, as he is batting .204 with three home runs and 25 RBIs in 60 games. However, he is hitting .333 (9-for-27) in June, and he is 15-for-44 (.341) dating back to May 28.
“Honestly, the last couple days felt really good,” Durbin said after the Wednesday loss to the Rays. “Felt like I was really getting good swings on the ball, and when I was going to hit them, it was going to be good results. Not just feeling like I’m putting good swings on the ball but trusting that the result would be good and trending in the right direction. But obviously still a lot of work to be done.
“Obviously, I haven’t been in the big leagues super long, but playing this game for most of my life, I’ve struggled at every level, so I haven’t gone a season without struggling. Just knowing that’s part of the process helps me continue to focus on the work I’m putting in.”
Wednesday was the first multi-homer game of Durbin’s major league career, but the loss left the Red Sox a season-worst 12 games below .500. Boston dropped four games on its five-game road trip, but things haven’t gone well for the Red Sox at home this season, either. Boston is 10-21 at Fenway Park — the worst home record in the big leagues.
“Really tough,” Durbin said when asked about the road trip, “but we’ve got to bounce back. Off day (Thursday) will be a good reset, for sure. But then, obviously, you have to get something going at home. It’s not really a choice at this point. Got to get it going.”
Texas is expected to start right-hander Jack Leiter (3-5, 4.69 ERA) on the mound Friday. He is 1-1 with a 4.35 ERA in two career starts against Boston, both last year.
In his latest outing, Leiter gave up five runs on six hits in 4 2/3 innings during a 6-0 loss to the Cleveland Guardians on Saturday.
Right-hander Sonny Gray (7-1, 3.20 ERA) is Boston’s probable starter. Gray is 11-5 with a 2.87 ERA in 19 career games (18 starts) vs. the Rangers.
Over his past six starts, Gray is 5-0 with a 2.43 ERA. On June 5 against the New York Yankees, Gray yielded three runs on eight hits in 6 1/3 innings en route to a 5-3 win.
Texas is coming off back-to-back victories to complete a three-game series at Kansas City. A rain-delayed 4-2 win over the Royals on Thursday gave the Rangers a .500 record (34-34) for the first time since May 1.
The Rangers have won nine of their past 12 games and each of their past four series.
“Some guys have really stepped up in the bullpen,” Texas manager Skip Schumaker said. “Our starting pitching, for the most part, has been really good as well, but we’ve had some timely hits, played small-ball, played the long ball, so I think we’re finally coming together as a team and finding different ways to win. That’s the biggest difference than maybe the beginning of the year.”
Texas’ Joc Pederson sat out on Thursday. The designated hitter left the Rangers’ 6-4, 10-inning win over Kansas City on Wednesday due to left hip discomfort.
–Field Level Media
