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BOSTON The Red Sox' historic turnaround began with Caleb Durbins go-ahead two-run home run against Yankees ace and American League Cy Young front-runner Cam Schlittler at Fenway Park on June 25.
Durbin played (and homered) despite partially dislocating his pinkie finger diving headfirst into first base the day before during a devastating 8-6 loss to the Colorado Rockies in which Boston blew a three-run lead in the eighth inning to drop to 32-46.
The Red Sox return flight from Colorado then got delayed five hours due to a mechanical issue.
The team didnt land in Boston until 5 a.m.
ahead of their 7:10 p.m.
game.
Durbin was in the lineup anyway.
His fifth-inning blast that put Boston ahead 4-2 was the start of a four-game sweep against the Yankees and a 20-3 stretch that has vaulted Boston into possession of the third AL Wild Card spot.
Feels like a long time ago, catcher Connor Wong said.
When youve got guys going out there banged up and still performing, youre just like, Man, I want to get out there with him and support him.
And it just kind of fires everyone up.
Wong said its difficult to put into words Durbins mental and physical toughness.
Theres no way to quantify that but just watch him play and you can tell, Wong said.
Durbins and the Red Sox turnarounds mirror each other.
Hes a big reason why the team is having a ton of success right now, Red Sox veteran infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa said.
Durbin, 26, batted .163 over his first 48 games with the Red Sox.
Since May 28, hes batting .303 with a .893 OPS, nine home runs, 10 doubles, one triple and 28 RBIs in 46 games (182 plate appearances).
Durbin has started every game during Bostons 20-3 run, batting .292 with a .372 on-base percentage and five home runs.
Its a testimony to how much work hes put in and how much of a fighter he is, Anthony Seigler said.
Seigler, Durbins former Double-A Somerset teammate in the Yankees organization, has also been front and center during the Red Sox historic winning streak that ended with a loss in Game 2 of Wednesdays doubleheader to the Orioles.
The 2026 Red Sox became just the second team in franchise history to post 15 straight victories, joining the 1946 club.
Seigler, 27, rushed out of the dugout, screamed and flexed his traps after Wilyer Abreus go-ahead two-run home run against the Rays in the seventh inning on Saturday.
He again bounced out of the dugout with several teammates, including Willson Contreras, after Durbins go-ahead home run in the eighth inning against the Orioles on Monday.
Seigler initially held the Wally head but passed it to Contreras to put on Durbins head.
Seigler instead did a jump high-five with Durbin.
I just try to play the game the right way, and I know that may rub people the wrong way with how I play and how much energy I do bring, Seigler said.
But it is what it is.
I love this team.
Seigler went a combined 0 for 8 in those two wins Saturday and Monday, but he couldnt care less.
I love my teammates and I just love seeing them excel and when somebody succeeds and does something well like Wilyer and the tear hes been on, Im going to celebrate it, Seigler said.
I dont care if Im 0 for 5, 0 for 4, whatever.
Im gonna be the same person.
And for him to come through clutch in that moment, how can you not celebrate that? Different paths, similar adversity Durbin and Seigler have two different backgrounds but their paths since entering pro ball have been similar.
The Braves drafted Durbin in the 14th round in 2021 out of Division III Washington University in St.
Louis, Missouri, and signed him to a $50,000 bonus.
Durbin had to put himself on the radar to become a prospect not only by working hard but producing consistently with the bat in the minors.
Just a gritty player, Seigler said, recalling his first impressions of Durbin in the Yankees minor league system.
Just hard-nosed, plays the game the right way with a chip on his shoulder.
Hes never out of it.
Meanwhile, the Yankees drafted Seigler in the first round in 2018 out of Cartersville High in Cartersville, Georgia, and gave him a $2,815,900 signing bonus.
Although Seigler was on the radar from day one, he did face adversity early in his career.
He appeared in just 24 games in 2018 and 30 games in 2019 due to injuries.
He also didnt play any games in 2020 because the COVID pandemic canceled the minor league season.
As Baseball America put it, Seigler missed out on chances to develop.
More injuries limited him to 41 games in 2021.
He struggled when he did play that year, batting .219 for High-A Hudson Valley.
Im thankful for the ups and downs definitely the downs," Seigler said.
Because I feel like I learned early how to maneuver through that and how to not let it snowball.
Over the past three years, Durbins and Seiglers careers have taken them from New York to Milwaukee to Boston.
The Yankees had the chance to add Seigler to their 40-man roster at the end of the 2024 season.
Doing so would have prevented Seigler from becoming a minor league free agent.
They instead let him walk.
Seigler signed a minor league contract with the Brewers on Nov.
19, 2024.
Twenty-four days later, the Yankees traded Durbin to Milwaukee with Nestor Cortes for Devin Williams.
Both Durbin and Seigler made their MLB debuts in 2025 with Milwaukee.
Boston then acquired both players in a six-player trade with the Brewers on Feb.
9, 2026.
Seigler said he is definitely thankful not everything came easy for him.
And definitely thankful for all the opportunities that I was given with the Yankees and the Brewers, Seigler said.
I think that just helped me get here where I needed to be.
Im never done.
Im never not working.
I always have something to work on.
Im just thankful to be here and be contributing to this team, this city.
Durbin has enjoyed watching the mutual embrace between Seigler and Boston fans.
Ive seen him at his times when hes been grinding in Double A and I saw how hard he works," Durbin said.
Durbin: Whatever the obstacle is, I know how to work through it Durbins turnaround in a tough market is a testimony to his character, Seigler said.
Durbin was the centerpiece Boston acquired in the Feb.
9 trade with Milwaukee.
The expectations were high after he finished third in the 2025 NL Rookie of the Year voting.
He posted a .479 OPS over his first 48 games.
Questions arose about whether the team would option Durbin to Triple-A Worcester when interim manager Chad Tracy started Nick Sogard over him at third base during a series in Kansas City from May 18-20.
No one here really knew what I was capable of, so thats the toughest part is myself knowing what Im capable of and not being able to show it," Durbin said.
Its nice that Ive had a good bit now to show what Im capable of.
Durbin said his background as a Division III player definitely helped him overcome the adversity he faced in the first couple of months this season.
Its a blessing in disguise to have played D3 because not many people know what it takes to come out of there and even get a pro shot, let alone get to the big leagues, Durbin said.
Im always going to know that whatever the situation is, whatever the obstacle is, I know how to work through it, Durbin added.
Durbin doesnt necessarily think he put too much pressure on himself after being traded to a big-market team to be an everyday player.
But Kiner-Falefa who has played in Boston and New York said it shouldnt go unnoticed when a player goes from a small market to a big market, struggles and overcomes it.
You feel those expectations.
Its a lot, Kiner-Falefa said.
And a lot of guys run away from it, but I feel like he took it head on.
He heard the noise and he answered back.
I think a lot of the time guys try to run away from a lot of that.
Kiner-Falefa said some players try too hard to flip the narrative.
He was able to look himself in the mirror and find who he is and what he can do.
And he found it, Kiner-Falefa said.
And I think whenever guys go through failure like that and they are able to stay in the fight and fight back, thats kind of how fan favorites are made.
When Durbin was struggling, Kiner-Falefa tried to remind the third baseman he could quickly turn into a fan favorite.
When the guys that I played with in New York dealt with that and they fought through it and they overcame it even if they werent superstars the fans just ate it up," Kiner-Falefa said.
Because they understood this guy could have quit, couldve asked for a trade, couldve asked to get out.
Instead, hes stood in the fight and fought back and punched back.
Kiner-Falefa added that Durbin embraced the noise and now he loves it.
Durbin said, If you win in a city like this, where it matters so much, thats what its all about.
Durbins backstory, small stature and dirt-dog style of play could have made him a fan favorite in blue-collar Boston from the very beginning had he gotten off to a strong start.
But he went 0 for 18 on the opening road trip and Sox fans booed him at the home opener after it turned into a 0-for-19 slump following his first plate appearance.
He worked his butt off, Kiner-Falefa said.
He was able to find success in the failures and he was able to make the adjustments.
And that proves why hes an everyday big leaguer.
Durbin had confidence he would turn it around.
Its a long season and I kind of knew that at the start, Durbin said.
I didnt really feel like myself and I knew it would just take some time and wed get on a roll personally and as a team.
And weve been able to do that.
Its tough when youre going through it, but its part of the game.
He said the hardest part was just not producing.
It weighed on him that he wasnt helping the team.
He wanted to come through for his teammates.
I dont think that the market size really impacted me, Durbin added.
I think I was really just focused on getting back to myself and not being able to produce for these guys was the toughest thing.
Even when Durbin hit .163 for nearly two months, he still contributed with above-average defense at third base.
Durbin, a Gold Glove candidate, entered Wednesday with the most defensive runs saved among AL third basemen with 10.
Even though he may have been struggling on offense ..
hes still going to have incredible defense, Seigler said.
A lot of people overlook that to where you can let the offense carry over to the defense.
Durbin kept his head up no matter how difficult it got, his teammates say.
He brings energy every day, Seigler said.
Even throughout the day, its fun to be around him.
Hes a character.
Hes hilarious.
Hes fun in the dugout.
Hes fun in here (in the clubhouse).
And then once its time to step between those lines, hes a different animal.
Seigler is not scared Kiner-Falefa, who played in New York in 2022-23, remembers Seigler as a Yankees prospect.
Youre expected to be the savior of the franchise just because what round you are (drafted), Kiner-Falefa said.
And thats a lot of pressure for a young kid.
And I think for him being able to grow up in that and deal with it, it kind of allowed him to come here and have instant success.
Whereas Durbs was the opposite where he didnt really have that pressure until he got here.
Providing energy has always been a part of both Seiglers game and personality, Kiner-Falefa said.
Seigler also is able to adapt, something Kiner-Falefa pointed out that the former Yankees first-rounder did in the minors when New York asked him to go from catching full-time to being an infielder.
Seiglers Baseball America scouting report ahead of the 2018 Draft called him one of the best defenders in the class.
It also noted that Seiglers pro future is behind the plate.
But the Yankees had several catchers in the organization and asked Seigler halfway through the 2023 season to play second base so he could get more at-bats.
I think the biggest thing is just the fierceness and being able to adapt, Kiner-Falefa said.
Seigler and Kiner-Falefa had a conversation during Seiglers first stint with Boston from June 3-9.
Kiner-Falefa encouraged Seigler to return to switch-hitting, something Seigler stopped doing in 2025.
The Red Sox optioned Seigler back to Worcester on June 9, then recalled him June 20 when they placed Kiner-Falefa on the IL.
All of a sudden, hes doing it in the game.
A week later, whenever he got called back up, he was hitting right-handed, Kiner-Falefa said.
I thought he was just practicing for next year.
I didnt realize that he was actually going to do it.
Kiner-Falefa said it showed Seiglers adaptability and fearlessness.
I think the biggest thing in the big leagues when you play in this market is just not to be scared, Kiner-Falefa said.
And hes not scared.
Seigler has quickly become a fan favorite.
Ive definitely seen it on social media, he said.
Im not on Twitter at all, but definitely Instagram and even on the street and at the games.
Its fun.
Im glad theyre embracing me and taking me in, because this is a fun city to play for.
Its a fun team to play for.
And just moments like (Abreus homer) just speak volumes to what the city wants and what they need, he added.
Were just trying to bring high energy every day, and bring more wins to the city.
Durbin said the Red Sox feed off Seiglers energy.
Seeing where hes at now, its really cool for me, Durbin said.
It honestly inspires me.
And we definitely feed off each other because weve both come a long way over the last couple years.
And just seeing him do his thing and come into his own and just seeing how comfortable he is and how well hes been doing helps me kind of do the same thing in a way.
It was clear from early on that Seigler provided big energy.
He waved his arms in the air to signal to the Fenway Park crowd to get louder after he hit his first MLB home run June 27 against New York during that four-game sweep that started it all.
I think he feeds off of Fenway and Boston and everything that comes with playing for the Red Sox, Durbin said.
Hes definitely feeding into the energy and were feeding off of him.
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