The Boston Red Sox are riding a tremendous wave of momentum entering Tuesday night’s matchup against the visiting Baltimore Orioles.

Caleb Durbin’s solo home run with two outs in the eighth inning propelled Boston to a 6-5 triumph over Baltimore on Monday. It was the 14th consecutive victory and 19th in the last 21 games for the Red Sox.

Durbin called it the biggest hit of his career.

“Man, the electricity on that one is probably top of the list,” he said. “Just being able to come through for the guys and get the lead there was big.

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

“We were digging, right? We were grinding there early on. You keep going knowing that there’s opportunities and there’s moments ahead like this, and there’s going to be plenty more. It’s a boring answer, but (the key is) keeping the same approach and keep moving forward every single day.”

Boston is averaging 5.9 runs per game during its 14-game winning streak, which is the second-longest such streak in team history. The Red Sox won 15 games in a row in 1946.

Boston’s starting pitchers have a 2.63 ERA during the streak, while the relievers are at 1.15.

“That was unbelievable,” Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy said of Monday’s victory. “It was a heck of an effort. Had to come back multiple times and kept fighting back. It was a heck of a win.

Boston trailed 1-0 in the first inning, 4-3 in the sixth and 5-4 in the seventh.

“They’re giving everything they got,” Tracy said. “They’re executing. They’re doing a great job.”

The loss ended Baltimore’s seven-game winning streak. Durbin’s home run came against Tyler Wells.

“Credit to (Durbin),” Orioles manager Craig Albernaz said. “He put a good swing on it. Wells has been outstanding for us. All of our bullpen guys have been answering the bell. One pitch you just want back, but Wells has been outstanding.

“Great back-and-forth game. It stinks we didn’t come out on the right side, (but) it was a great atmosphere.”

Baltimore committed four errors in the loss, including two when Boston scored two runs in the third inning. Two of Boston’s six runs were unearned.

“You look at the errors and it’s rough, but it kind of just shows us that that’s a game we could have won and probably should have,” said Orioles second baseman Jeremiah Jackson, who committed one error.

“Two really good teams going at it. We can compete with anybody.”

The Orioles will send right-hander Kyle Bradish (6-9, 3.61 ERA) to the mound on Tuesday for the second contest of the three-game series. Bradish is 1-6 with a 6.75 ERA in 10 career starts against Boston.

Tracy said left-hander Ranger Suarez (4-3, 3.15 ERA) will be activated from the 15-day injured list to start on Tuesday. Suarez sustained a groin injury during a July 5 start against the Los Angeles Angels.

He’s 0-2 with a 4.32 ERA in four career starts against Baltimore.

–Field Level Media

The surging Milwaukee Brewers will look to remain perfect in the second half on Tuesday when they send right-hander Brandon Sproat against the visiting New York Mets.

Sproat (3-4, 5.16 ERA), who was acquired from the Mets in the offseason trade involving fellow pitcher Freddy Peralta, will be opposed by rookie left-hander Zac Thornton (0-1, 2.60).

The Brewers rocked Peralta for seven runs in 5 1/3 innings Monday in an 8-3 win in the series opener. Andrew Vaughn belted a two-run homer and rookie Cooper Pratt launched a solo shot for his first career homer off Peralta, who pitched the previous eight seasons in Milwaukee.

Joey Ortiz added a three-run homer off Xzavion Curry.

Hard-throwing ace Brewers Jacob Misiorowski, who skipped his last start before the All-Star break due to arm fatigue, allowed one unearned run in four innings in a planned shortened start.

National League Central-leading Milwaukee, which resides seven games ahead of the second-place Chicago Cubs, has won four in a row since the break to improve to a season-high 26 games above .500. The Brewers are a half-game ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers for the best record in the majors.

Pratt, who moved into the starting shortstop role after being called up from Triple-A Nashville in mid-June, is batting .357 (15-for-42) over his last 13 games with two doubles, a triple, a homer and six RBIs.

“Cooper’s very capable,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said after Pratt had three hits in Monday’s win. “He’s got a lot to learn, the game. Nights like tonight, very encouraging.”

Ortiz, who struggled early, is batting .326 (15-for-46) with three doubles, three homers and seven RBIs over his last 14 games.

Garrett Mitchell also remained red-hot with an RBI single and a double. He is hitting .397 (25-for-63) with eight doubles, two homers, a triple and 10 RBIs in 17 games in July.

Sproat, who will be facing his former team for the first time, is 2-0 with a 3.55 ERA over his last seven starts, allowing 13 runs in 33 innings. Sproat lasted just three innings in his last start, yielding three runs (two earned) but did not get a decision in a 7-6 loss at Pittsburgh.

Thornton, who has split time between Triple-A and New York, will be making his fourth start for the Mets this season. He has allowed five runs in 17 1/3 innings, but just one homer.

In his last start on July 12, he allowed just two hits over seven scoreless innings but did not get the decision in his team’s 10-inning loss to the Boston Red Sox.

“We’ve been needing that from someone,” interim manager Andy Green said about Thornton. “You can see he’s unafraid, and you can see he’s on the attack. So as painful as this moment is, those are good signs for our future to see a young guy step on the mound and pitch like that.”

Bo Bichette was 2-for-3 in the series opener. He is hitting .325 with five homers, nine doubles, a triple and 23 RBIs over his last 39 games.

–Field Level Media

After snapping a five-game losing streak, the Tampa Bay Rays will now try to start building a winning streak Tuesday night against the host Toronto Blue Jays.

The Rays took the opener of a four-game series 7-1 Monday to drop the Blue Jays to eight games below .500.

The Rays have dominated the Blue Jays this season, leading the season series 6-1. They are first in the American League East, 11 1/2 games ahead of the last-place Rays.

The Blue Jays have started an important seven-game homestand 1-3. The Rays are 1-4 on their eight-game road trip.

The presence of Dylan Cease on the mound gave the Blue Jays hope of starting the series out with a win. But besides not being able to hit, the Blue Jays had trouble catching the ball and were charged with three errors on Monday.

As a result, two of the five runs allowed by Cease were unearned.

“It’s on us,” Cease said. “It’s not the coaches. It’s not anybody else. We’re just not playing up to our potential right now. So it’s frustrating, but we have each other’s backs. We’re going to keep fighting.”

The Blue Jays have scored two runs over their past three games. And the Rays are not a good opponent for a team that is pressing and battling frustration.

“The way that the Rays play puts pressure on you,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “They do all the little things pretty well, whether it’s getting a bunt down, stealing a base. We talked about it before the series, we know they’re going on contact, and it forces you to be perfect.”

The Blue Jays are slated to pin their hopes Tuesday on right-hander Kevin Gausman (4-8, 4.33 ERA). In 28 career games (26 starts) against the Rays, Gausman is 8-10 with a 4.26 ERA and 153 strikeouts in 148 innings. He is 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA in in two starts against the Rays this season.

Right-hander Drew Rasmussen (7-5, 3.26) is the probable starter for the Rays. In 13 career games (11 starts) against Toronto, he is 3-4 with 3.00 ERA. He is 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA in two starts against the Blue Jays this season.

The Rays got a solid six innings from starter Nick Martinez in the opener. Unlike Cease, he had some run support. Victor Mesa Jr., Cedric Mullins and Nick Fortes hit solo homers for the Rays. Junior Caminero was 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs.

“Top to bottom, we had a bunch of contributions, and needed guys to feel good about themselves,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said.

Mesa has homered in three consecutive games.

“I feel like we needed this one,” Mesa said. “I felt like we need that confidence back. We never stop believing. We know the team that we are, and the work will never stop. Let’s keep working and let’s do our job. Let’s keep being the team that we are. We’re back. We’re back on track. We turned around, and this is the way.”

The Blue Jays are going in the opposite direction. They thought they had turned it around on June 22 when they reached .500, but they are 7-15 since.

“Losing is definitely disappointing,” Cease said. “I think it’s just frustrating when it doesn’t feel like we’re giving teams our best bullets. We have to let go of the past and show up tomorrow ready to play.”

–Field Level Media