Durbin's Fifth-Inning Blast Flips the Script on New York
Caleb Durbin erased a two-run deficit with one swing, and Boston never looked back. The Red Sox beat the Yankees 6-3 on June 25, 2026, turning what looked like a comfortable New York lead into a distant memory by the fifth inning.
New York came out swinging. Jasson Dominguez singled to center in the first to score Goldschmidt, and Jose Caballero put an exclamation point on the early advantage with a 400-foot shot to left center in the fourth. Just like that, the Yankees were up 2-0, and Cam Schlittler was dealing — five innings, nine strikeouts, zero earned runs. On paper, New York was in control.
Then the fifth inning happened, and it happened fast. A fielder's choice brought Boston within one, and a Jarren Duran sacrifice fly knotted it at two. That set the stage for the moment that defined the night: Caleb Durbin homered to left, 344 feet, Contreras scoring ahead of him. Boston went from tied to leading 4-2, and the win probability swung from 50% to 77% on that single swing. The Yankees had handed Schlittler a two-run cushion; Boston's offense handed it right back with interest. The story of the night was how quickly and completely that fifth inning rewrote the game.
New York did claw one back in the seventh — Goldschmidt grounded out to third, but Chisholm Jr. scored to make it 4-3, and for a moment the Yankees looked like they had a pulse. Connelly Early had gone six innings, allowing 2 earned runs on 5 hits with 9 strikeouts of his own, and the bullpen would have to hold. It did. Boston put the game away in the eighth: a hit-by-pitch with a successful challenge scored Durbin for his second run of the night, and Ceddanne Rafaela's fielder's choice plated Monasterio to push the lead to 6-3. Garrett Whitlock closed it out with a clean inning — no hits, no runs, one strikeout. Durbin finished 2-for-3 with a homer, 2 RBI, and 2 runs scored. Goldschmidt went 2-for-4 with an RBI for New York, and Caballero's homer was a bright spot in what became a losing effort. The Yankees, already dealing with Ryan McMahon on the 10-day IL with a throat infection per ESPN, got contributions but not enough of them. Boston's 6-3 win was earned in one decisive inning and protected from there.