Overview
- Durbin delivered his first major‑league multi‑homer game on Wednesday in a 7-5 loss that completed a three‑game sweep by the Tampa Bay Rays.
- He had lost everyday status after a severe early slump, hitting about .163 through late May, but has started 12 straight games and is 15-for-44 (.341) in his recent stretch.
- Durbin’s elite defense at third base has preserved his roster spot despite prolonged hitting problems and shaped how the team has used him.
- Boston is 27-39 with the worst reported home record, creating trade‑deadline talk about moving pieces from an outfield logjam and targeting controllable assets such as Jarren Duran.
- One outlet linked Durbin’s turnaround to work with a third‑party instructor, a detail not widely corroborated, and the key developments to watch are whether he sustains his bat and how the front office values him before the August 3 deadline.