Red Sox run win streak to 14 with 6-5 win over Orioles on Caleb Durbin’s solo homer in the eighth

Anthony Seigler, basking in his emergence from the fringes of the depth chart to become the Red Sox’ everyday second baseman and leadoff hitter, made what may well have been an accidental bold declaration Monday afternoon.

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His team was set to host the Orioles, winners of seven consecutive games, the second-longest win streak in the majors behind only, of course, these Sox. Seigler had taken note.

“I saw they’re on a good streak, and that’s all good and all,” he said in a matter-of-fact tone. “But they haven’t played us yet, especially with the streak that we’re on and how we’re feeling.”

The extreme degree of casual confidence proved prescient. Caleb Durbin’s tiebreaking home run in the eighth inning lifted the Red Sox past the Orioles, 6-5, in a back-and-forth thriller at Fenway Park for their 14th win in a row — one away from the franchise record.

They will attempt to match that mark, set in 1946, on Tuesday night. Lefthander Ranger Suarez will return from the injured list to face righthander Kyle Bradish.

“I try not to [think about it], but I want it,” Durbin said. “I can’t speak for anyone else. We haven’t really talked about it, but, shoot, I want to make history here.”

For the Red Sox (51-48), the question each game seems not to be whether or not they will win. They wonder only about the specifics.

“Who is gonna have the moment today?” said Payton Tolle, who was Monday’s starter.

This time, it was Durbin, who stepped to the plate with the bases empty and two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Already, the Sox and Orioles (49-52) had combined for eight plays on which a team tied the score or took a lead — quite the feat, considering they had combined for 10 runs to that point.

Durbin was looking for another. He noticed that Baltimore righthander Tyler Wells had mostly pitched away against the previous three batters, so he locked in on the outer half of the plate. He wanted to take his shot.

“Late in the game, two outs especially, trying to get on second base at the very least, trying to do some damage,” Durbin explained. “If there’s a spot to let it eat, it’s there.”

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Wells left a cutter up and, yes, on the outer half. Durbin let it eat.

As the announced sellout crowd of 37,659 exploded, so, too, did the dugout. Seigler joined Willson Contreras (3 for 4, two RBIs), Andruw Monasterio, and Carlos Narváez in leaping on the field before the ball had even landed in the seats atop the Green Monster.

It was the final blow.

“That was unbelievable. It was a heck of an effort,” interim manager Chad Tracy said. “The number of wins in a row is hard to believe, but they’re playing, they’re giving everything they got, and they’re executing. They’re doing a great job.”

Durbin said: “There’s not a lot of times I black out, like they say. I think that was one of the moments where I just — I didn’t know what was happening. I just was going with it. And I couldn’t tell you what I looked like running around the bases.”

The Orioles nearly provided one more twist, but Aroldis Chapman survived a scoreless ninth inning by stranding runners at second and third base. Tyler O’Neill shot a line drive toward left field — a batted ball with an expected batting average of .890 — but shortstop Tsung-Che Cheng reeled it in with a leaping catch for the last out.

“There were a lot of things going through my head,” Tracy said, “but [Cheng] makes a heck of a play.”

Tolle (5⅔ innings, four runs) and Orioles righty Shane Baz (six innings, four runs, two earned) pitched to similar fates.

Tolle struck out nine, walked one, allowed two of Gunnar Henderson’s three doubles, and gave up a homer to Christian Encarnacion-Strand. Half of the eight hits off him were a quartet of singles in the sixth — three on ground balls, three with two outs.

“Obviously, I was frustrated coming out,” Tolle said. “Just an incredible game. To come out on top of a game like that is incredible.”

Of great aid to the Sox: Baltimore committed four errors. That included an ugly stretch in the third inning, during which the Orioles misplayed three consecutive balls in play, creating a pair of unearned runs.

All that helped set the stage for Durbin — and for Seigler’s pregame sentiment to stand up just fine.

“Once I say something, I stand by it,” Seigler, smiling wide, said afterward. “It’s just a feeling we have. Honestly, it’s the fight that this team has. The team that we have right now is just so much fun to be around. We’re all pulling for each other. It’s going to be somebody different every night. You saw it today. You see it every day.”

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