AL East: Durbin hanging on by a thread

Boston Red Sox

Caleb Durbin’s offensive struggles have been a persistent topic in this space throughout the season, and his performance has bottomed out in a disastrous May (.146/.196/.188 in 53 PA), which has brought his OPS to .479, worst among all qualified hitters in MLB. Durbin’s playing time showed its first signs of diminishing starting on May 17, when he sat out four consecutive games against right-handed starters (he did start both games against left-handed starters in this stretch). In each of the games in which Durbin sat, Nick Sogard took his spot at third base, with either Isiah Kiner-Falefa or Andruw Monasterio starting at shortstop, while Marcelo Mayer started at second base. 

With Mayer making his first start of the...

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