Red Sox rout White Sox behind Caleb Durbin’s grand slam, Wilyer Abreu’s two homers

Fresh off sweeping the Dodgers over the weekend and the trade deadline on Monday, the Red Sox continued to make winning look easy, welcoming the White Sox to town for a three-game series. 

Boston erupted for six runs in the first inning and never looked back, pounding the White Sox 14-2 Tuesday night at Fenway Park to improve to 61-51. 

The victory was the Red Sox’ 24th in their last 27 games and 29th in their last 34, while continuing a remarkable turnaround at home, where they’ve gone 14-4 since June 25 after opening the season 12-25.

Caleb Durbin wasted little time putting Boston in control.

With the bases loaded in the first inning, the Sox third baseman crushed the first grand slam of his major league career, launching a 401-foot drive into the Green Monster seats off Davis Martin for a 5-0 lead. 

Durbin's blast was the first Red Sox' grand slam at home in the first inning since Michael Chavis did it against the Blue Jays in July 2019. 

Durbin’s turnaround at the plate has been one of the club’s biggest developments this summer. After batting just .163 with nine extra-base hits over his first 48 games, he’s hitting .308 with 23 extra-base hits in his last 57 contests.

One batter later, Jarren Duran followed with a 414-foot homer to right-center, giving the Red Sox back-to-back blasts and a 6-0 advantage before Chicago had a chance to settle in. Duran recorded his 19th multi-hit game and his fifth in his last 11 games in the victory.  

The offense never let up, pounding Davis. 

Wilyer Abreu joined the home run parade with a 430-foot solo shot in the fifth before adding another 419-foot blast to center in the eighth. The two-homer performance was the eighth of his career, third this season, and pushed his season total to 19 home runs.

Boston broke the game completely open with a six-run sixth inning.

Andruw Monasterio delivered a two-run single, Ceddanne Rafaela ripped a two-run double, Willson Contreras added an RBI single and Masataka Yoshida capped the rally with an RBI double as the Red Sox stretched the lead to 13-2.

Patrick Sandoval continued to build momentum in his return from Tommy John surgery.

Making just his fifth start since returning from an internal brace procedure that sidelined him for more than two years, the left-hander earned his first major league victory since May 7, 2024. Sandoval allowed two runs on six hits over five-plus innings, walking four and striking out five.

Boston also got its first look at one of its newest acquisitions.

Left-hander Erik Miller, acquired from the Giants on Monday in exchange for Marcelo Mayer, made his Red Sox debut in the sixth inning. Entering with a runner on second and two outs, Miller needed just four pitches to strike out All-Star Tristan Peters and end the threat. 

The hard-throwing lefty has now struck out 46 of the 143 hitters he’s faced this season, good for a 32.2 percent strikeout rate.

Brayan Bello finished the final three innings, retiring every hitter he faced without allowing a hit or a run to preserve the bullpen for the remainder of the series.

Boston’s 14 runs marked its second-highest scoring output of the season, trailing only the club’s 17-1 victory over Baltimore on April 25. It was also the sixth time this season the Red Sox have reached double digits in runs. The Sox also hit four homers in back-to-back games for the first time since July 2021. They've also hit a home run in eight straight games, their longest streak since last season.

The Red Sox and White Sox continue their three-game series Wednesday night at Fenway Park. Sonny Gray (13-2, 2.93 ERA) is scheduled to start for Boston against Chicago right-hander Sean Burke (7-5, 3.04 ERA).

Red Sox Notes

Adley Rutschman Arrives

Adley Rutschman officially joined the Red Sox on Tuesday and began getting acclimated to his new surroundings at Fenway Park.

“Just from playing here, the city loves baseball. It always has a great atmosphere and I’m excited to play in it,” Rutschman said Tuesday before the win over the White Sox. “They’re playing the game the right way and doing things right. It was cool to watch from a distance. Now being here, like I said – just trying to fit in and help out any way I can.”

The three-time All-Star catcher is currently on the injured list with left wrist inflammation but has already resumed swinging a bat. The Red Sox remain optimistic he’ll return soon, though they’re not interested in rushing the recovery of a player they paid a steep price to acquire before Monday’s trade deadline.

“It’s been feeling good. I’ve got to get with the medical staff here and kind of just see what the next steps are moving forward,” said Rutschman, who has been on the IL since July 20. “I don’t exactly know just what kind of timeline and how all that goes.”

Rutschman said he’ll use his time on the injured list to build relationships with Boston’s pitching staff, even though he’s already familiar with many of them from facing them over the years.

“I’ve seen a lot of these guys pitch and faced them,” Rutschman said. “I kind of understand how they attack guys but I’m definitely going to have some more in-depth conversations, just make sure that we’re on the same page and it flows smoothly when we get out there.”

Interim manager Chad Tracy said Rutschman’s arrival sends a message throughout the clubhouse.

“I think it’s a strong statement to the group with a player like that,” Tracy said. “We went out and got a huge addition to our lineup and behind the plate. So it means a lot. We’ll work through getting him healthy and getting him out there. But his history speaks for itself and who he is as a catcher and as an offensive player. So it’s a big add for us.”

Roster Moves

To clear roster spots for newly acquired outfielder Eli White and Miller, the Red Sox designated right-hander Ryan Watson for assignment and optioned infielder Romy Gonzalez to Triple-A Worcester.

Boston acquired Watson from the Athletics in December after they selected him in the Rule 5 Draft. The 28-year-old earned a roster spot out of spring training and primarily filled a multi-inning relief role.

Over 55 2/3 innings, Watson posted a 4.53 ERA with 43 strikeouts. After a difficult start to the season, he settled in, recording a 3.40 ERA with 33 strikeouts over his final 39 2/3 innings dating back to April 28. Fifteen of his 35 appearances lasted at least two innings.

Gonzalez, meanwhile, never found his footing after returning from left shoulder surgery. He missed the first three months of the season, played only six rehab games and hit just .185 (12-for-65) after returning to the majors.

“It’s difficult,” Tracy said. “He’s not pleased, obviously. But I think (he handled it) like a pro. … It’s tough because he was a huge part of it and he still is. There’s still an avenue. He could still help, but it’s not easy to have that conversation, especially knowing he’s working on finding himself with the swing and stuff like that and we know what it looks like when it’s right. So not easy.”

Injury Report

Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet took another step in his recovery from left shoulder inflammation Monday, throwing for the first time in more than two months.

The southpaw threw from 50 to 60 feet.

“He’s been down a while, so we’re in the very infant stages of like very short (throws),” Tracy said. “But he did have a ball in his hand and was throwing it, which is good. So he’s probably going to be in that really short range throwing right now and then we’ll move him along as he goes.”

Roman Anthony also reached another milestone in his recovery, taking batting practice for the first time since tearing a ligament under his right ring finger on May 4.

After resuming tee work and soft toss last week, Anthony advanced to overhand batting practice Tuesday.

“Today he actually took overhand BP in the cage, which is another step in the right direction,” Tracy said. “So it’s kind of like your in phases with this. Like early on it was tee and flips, which he managed well. Hit BP today for the first time.”

Anthony is scheduled for a recovery day Wednesday before resuming hitting Thursday.

“So we’ll keep him in this phase now and see how he responds to that and then hopefully advance him past that,” Tracy said. “But he’s doing well.”

Boston Rob Released

Former Red Sox outfielder Rob Refsnyder was released by the Mariners on Tuesday, one day after Seattle acquired outfielder Taylor Ward, making Refsnyder the odd man out.

The 35-year-old appeared in 53 games for Seattle this season after signing a one-year deal in December, batting .140 with four home runs and 11 RBI. He also spent nearly a month on the injured list with right knee inflammation.