It felt like the energy drained out of Fenway Park when the Chicago White Sox took a 4-0 lead in the third inning on a steamy Thursday night.
The rampaging Red Sox were overdue for a bad night, and the sellout crowd fell silent as Ranger Suarez struggled to throw strikes. Not even the Tartan Army would have helped at that point.
But these are the inexplicable and invincible Red Sox of 2026. Give it time and something memorable will happen.
It sure did.
In the most ridiculous game of a ridiculous roller-coaster ride of a season, Caleb Durbin’s 13th-inning single gave the Red Sox a 12-11 victory before a crowd of 37,082.
The Red Sox overcame deficits of 4-0, 7-5, 9-7, 10-9, and 11-10 over the course of the game, which lasted 4 hours and 23 minutes.
Backup catcher Jake Rogers, who was acquired in a trade with the Orioles on Monday, tied the game with a sacrifice fly in the 12th inning.
He was then in the group of players who rushed the field after Durbin slapped a single to center field to give the Red Sox an eight-game win streak.
That’s 10 wins in 11 games for the Sox and 17 of 20. Should I keep going? It’s also 26 of 29 and 31 of 36.
At 63-51, the Sox now have the third-best record in the American League after falling to 32-46 on June 24.
“I’ve been on the other side against them. This team is a pain in the ass,” Rogers said. “They’re relentless, and they just don’t give in. This is a very dangerous team.”
Rogers made his Sox debut in the 10th inning to catch Aroldis Chapman, a lefthander with a triple-digit fastball.
“That was my first time with him. I felt like a hockey goalie,” Rogers said. “Just try and keep everything in front of me.”
Chapman said their only interaction had been saying hello when Rogers arrived at Fenway Park on Tuesday.
“He’s a nice guy,” Chapman said. “That’s what it seemed like.”
Yes, Aroldis, he seems like a nice guy.
Chapman allowed a two-run homer to Chase Meidroth. But the Sox bounced back. Rogers then had a sacrifice fly to tie the game in the 12th inning.
“I’m not just saying this because I play here now, but Fenway Park is my favorite park, and Boston is my favorite city to come to as a visiting player,” he said. “To have that crowd on your side is a different feeling and it’s great.”
Interim manager Chad Tracy — and isn’t it about time to actually give him the job? — looked more relieved than anybody else after the game.
The Sox were out of bench players and relief pitchers in the 12th inning. Brayan Bello had thrown 28 pitches over two innings at that point after throwing three innings and 28 pitches against the White Sox on Tuesday.
The only unused players were starting pitchers Jake Bennett, Sonny Gray, Patrick Sandoval, and Payton Tolle. Had Durbin not won the game when he did, the Red Sox might have put a position player into pitch.
“We only had so many bullets with Bello. We had to get it done,” Tracy said.
The Sox appeared more exhausted than celebratory after the game. Thursday was the third of 16 games scheduled over 16 days in three cities, and they needed to get home to rest.
“I’m drenched in sweat, and I wasn’t even playing,” Tracy said.
What is it about this group that has made them so resilient?
“Sonny said [Wednesday], it was a good comment, that the mentality when they walk in the door is to win the game. We’ll do what it takes to win the game,” Tracy said. “What you saw was a team that didn’t want to lose.”
Peter Abraham can be reached at peter.abraham@globe.com. Follow him on Bluesky at peteabeglobe.bsky.social.